Life of the Pack
by Brawl499
Summary: The Darkness is rising, and its direct servants, the Vex and Hive, will soon move into a revived campaign against the Darkness' enemy, the Traveler. Many Guardians stand to meet these forces at the gates, but one, Fireteam Komodo, will unknowingly bring to light a very potent question: Are some Cabal and Fallen in situations so different from ours?
1. Gentle Starts

_300 Years Post-Collapse, Housing District B, Slums Quarter_

Undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of the nearby markets, the apartment belonging to one of many Guardians of The City instead laid dormant. Metal slat windows were popped open, letting in a soft glow of golden light, occasionally disrupted by a passing shuttle or Guardian ship. The living room was fairly cluttered, a table littered with piles of bounties set by other residents of The City sitting prominently in the center. Whether it be a request for a certain piece of ancient knowledge or tech, or the head of a particularly dangerous alien on a long-forgotten colony world, people would pay for anything.

More importantly, the next room over contained the apartment's resident, a Hunter named Merikh, who was sleeping peacefully. Not even slightly bothered by the sounds outside, Merikh was eventually roused from his sleep by his Ghost.

"I believe you need to get up, the others are waiting for you outside of a shop in the Markets." Merikh's Ghost informed, its faintly glowing white form drifting closer to the bed.

"Good morning to you too, Ghost. What do they need me for anyway?" Merikh asked, moving to rub his eyes. This motion was abruptly stopped by the feeling of metal as Merikh realized that he had fallen asleep in full gear. Moving to the mirror, Merikh took in his image as he wondered how he not only blacked out in full gear, but that his hood remained up as well. Painted a custom orange and white coloration, his full Vaquero 1.1 armor set was otherwise unmodified, same with his solid dark orange Cloak of the Leopard.

"Well, they said they have an expedition to the Moon soon, and you have to come with. Also, Caldwell said that Barrett's in an antique shop with Carwyn. He stressed the importance of your immediate presence _very_ heavily." Merikh's Ghost informed, trying to avoid a twinge of amusement from creeping into its voice.

"Knowing those two, I'll be lucky if half the market doesn't want to kill them by the time I get there." Merikh laughed, grabbing his Trax Mallus II Scout Rifle from its propped up position against the wall as he left the room. Slinging the rifle onto his back, Merikh's Ghost flew to catch up, dematerializing as Merikh left the apartment. Stepping out into the messy streets, Merikh took one good look up at the Traveler, his people's last sign of hope, before setting off down the street.

Moving at a quick pace, Merikh almost glided down the streets, using his merely average stature and slim build to weave through, cut around, and nimbly dodge the crowds, the best evidence of his presence being the brief sighting of his faded orange cape and hood. Dancing around the flocks of people, Merikh eventually came to a small, rickety shop. Positioned outside were two of his fellow Guardians, and close friends at that.

The Awoken Alvara, a fellow Hunter, was sitting down with her back against the wall. Her unseen eyes were caught in an aging and withered book, her white and green-camo set of Rustburner armor and Nagari cloak surprisingly blending into the shadowy wall of the shop. Standing upright next to her was the Warlock Caldwell, whose patient posture and grey, washed-out, Thunderdevil-painted armor added to his cold presentation. Specifically the Viper Spine set, the variations were III for the helmet, II for the arms, IV for the legs, and VI for the chest. Almost as if to clash with his grey attire, the Bond wrapped around his bicep was the Spirit of the Vulture.

"Glad you made it. Thankfully Barrett and Carwyn haven't been run out of the shop, but we should still get them out of there before I speak too soon." Caldwell warned, the Banshee-44-like metallic distortion in his voice, which was caused by being an Exo with a slightly damaged vocal unit, only adding to his menace.

"Honestly, I think this is a new record for them." Merikh prodded, pushing his way into the shop with Caldwell behind him. The shop was dark, with walls of antique firearms, books, and various pieces of technology scavenged from the Golden Age placed on a myriad of shelves and racks. Standing behind the counter was a fairly young looking civilian woman, and two massive Titans a small distance away inspecting some antique firearms.

The one on the left, who was slightly more elegant looking in steel and yellow colored Holdfast Type 1 armor, an increased collar of fur wrapping over his neck and left shoulder compared to standard-issue, was the Awoken Carwyn. Slung over his back was a Pulsar MSE Pulse Rifle, with the text _Three for Three_ etched into the right side of the carrying handle, starting above the ammo counter. On the right was the human Barrett, whose poor posture, dark green and brown colored Commando Type 0 armor, and blunt tone of voice telling volumes about the kind of person that he was: loud, upfront, hard to stop, and probably a good substitute for a battering ram..

"_Quite interesting_…Lever-Action designs were completely phased out before the Golden Age even met its end, how one survived this long _and _in seemingly working order is a question maybe even the Cryptarch can't answer." Carwyn spoke, largely to himself, in amazement as he aimed down the sights of an antique Lever-Action rifle, the fact that it seemed to still operate properly based on him pulling the trigger and operating the lever serving as a testament to its durability.

"Hey Ghost, what era would'ya pin this gun being from?" Barrett asked as his Ghost materialized beside his head, examining an ancient rifle Barrett was holding.

"The shell appears to be based on a design from the 21st or 22nd Century, but its internal mechanisms are more reminiscent of technology just after the start of the Collapse. Quite peculiar…." Barrett's Ghost pondered, logging its findings for further study later. One thing it _did _take note of, however, is that the gun's frame bore resemblance to what the City's archives labeled as being called the G36.

"Alright you two gun connoisseurs, time to go. I'm interested to see what's so special on the Moon that we want to contend with the Hive again." Merikh butted in, getting the attention of both Titans. Reluctantly agreeing, the Titans went over to the counter.

"Hey, can you put these aside for us? We'll be back later for 'em." Barrett asked, him and Carwyn passing their respective antiques over to the clerk.

"Sure, don't get gutted by the Thralls." The woman said in a deadpan tone, evidently having overheard Merikh's statement about the Moon. Shrinking back slightly in offense at the woman's blatant lack of faith in a Guardian, and two Titans at that, Carwyn and Barrett opted to silently leave the shop.

"So, what _are _we going to the Moon for?" Merikh inquired, still curious and quite pressed to know given his _highly unpleasant _experiences with simulated Thralls in the practice rooms at the Tower. To make matters worse, his childhood didn't exactly leave him with a high opinion of what their power can do.

"A Guardian in Old Russia found a Hive Breeding Ground locked away by the Fallen in an underground chamber near the Cosmodrome, even killed a Wizard. If a Wizard's on Earth, it's not just some strays, it's a plotted and coordinated desire to come back to Earth." Caldwell explained, summoning his Ghost to create a projection against the wall of the shop.

"So we're going to just aimlessly wage war on the Hive? I understand the want to strike first, but attacking the Hive _at all _is going to be kicking a hornet's nest. Attacking without any aim or direction is going to be like kicking a hornet's nest with a _landmine tucked inside_." Merikh humorously likened, not feeling comfortable about fighting the Hive without any direction.

"Lucky for you, we _do_ have a direction: That same Guardian opened the doors to a place called the Temple of Crota just a few days ago, and another Fireteam blew open the doors to a place called the Temple of Eir. We're going for the third one, called the Temple of Xol. They're all connected to the Hellmouth, so if we attack from all these different angles, we can thin out the Hive's defenses by forcing them to defend three or more fronts at once." Caldwell explained as his Ghost projected the entryway to the Temple of Xol against the wall, followed by a far-out view of the Hellmouth, a blinking red orb signifying the Temple of Xol's location relative to it.

"Also, something he's conveniently forgetting to tell you: We got assigned this one because of our larger Fireteam, since the Temple of Xol's the most reinforced, most populated, and most heavily defended of the three that Guardians have found so far." Alvara spoke up, having been with Caldwell when The Speaker gave them this mission. Caldwell only glanced at her with what could be assumed as an annoyed '_You __**had **__to tell them that?' _expression under his helmet. Caldwell's Ghost closing down the projection, the group set off towards The Tower.

"So….we got the tough job by default?" Barrett asked as the group made their way to the nearest Tower-bound shuttle, not really bothered by it.

"More or less. I doubt the Speaker wants to get rid of us for being unconventional, he probably just prefers to use us as overcompensation to avoid losing more Guardians with a normally-sized team." Caldwell guessed, not really quite sure himself.

"Oh, don't mean to dampen anyone's spirits, but after looking over some recon reports that the Hunters who found the Temple of Xol submitted, there's supposedly an unidentified Knight sub-type stationed there. Just wanted to warn everyone in advance." Caldwell's Ghost spoke up, going back into silence right after as it continued to make sense of the semi-blurry images said Hunters sent back. He also explicitly decided to avoid telling the group that one of said photos was the unidentified Knight nearly taking the head off of a Hunter with a strange, Naginata-like weapon.

In addition to that, there was also a strange, hooded figure with a yellow bullpup-configuration rifle standing on the rock ledge in the background, which Caldwell's Ghost had not noticed when the images first came in.

_Later, somewhere in Old Russia, 2:15 AM…_

Skittering and climbing on and around the wrecked husks of ages-old Main Battle Tanks, a pack of Dregs from the House of Kings descended upon the old weapons of war under directions to scavenge what they could from the firing mechanisms, targeting systems, and if possible, spare ammo. While the large rounds weren't as potent as the actual, Fallen-made rounds loaded into a Devil Walker's main cannon, it was a sufficient substitute. Watched over by a trio of Vandals and a single Captain, the Dregs fervently set about their reclamation efforts, actually kicking, clawing, and hissing at one another in hopes of being the exemplary one that gains the Captain's favor.

Thoroughly enraptured in their task, the Dregs hardly noticed as even _more _Dregs, these dressed in red armor instead of the Kings' gold, also set upon the tank. Not interested in the tank's supplies, the Dregs instead dug into the King Dregs standing on and around it, setting off a violent brawl as both sides were armed only with their Shock Knives.

Alarmed by the sudden scrap, the Captain prepared to move in closer, his Shrapnel Launcher being more than adequate to take out a few measly Dregs. Letting his higher stature serve as a point of intimidation, the Captain was so transfixed on the Dregs, that he didn't notice as an even larger Fallen than him barreled into him. Sent careening off his feet by the sudden blow, the Captain's breath suddenly became quite strained, almost positive one of his lungs was punctured.

"What…in the world?" The Captain choked out, dazed and confused. Looking up at his assailant, the Captain's shock turned to dread as his assailant stepped into the flickering street-light ahead, being even taller than a Captain. Dressed in armor similar to a Kell's, his assailant was from the House of Devils, just like the Dregs, but possessed a thin string belt laced with the skulls of various races, from a human skull to an Exo's detached and deactivated head, even possessing the skull of a Cabal and the detached eye of a Vex. Criss-crossed with that belt was another string belt, this one intertwined with the torn scraps of various House flags, ranging from the House of Kings to the Wolves, even toting an strange green flag piece that the Captain didn't recognize. "Riksis…."

The Vandals raising their Shock Rifles in defense of their Captain, their attention was quickly skewed as a distant noise rang out, followed by the punctual sight of a Vandal's brain-matter leaving his head, dropping to the floor in wake of the Wire Rifle shot that caused it. Looking around for the source of the shot, the other two Vandals didn't know which way to look as Riksis advanced, carelessly stepping onto and over the chest of the downed Captain as another Vandal hit the floor, incapacitated by a Wire Rifle round to the knee. Vainly opening fire on Riksis, the third Vandal was mercilessly blown open by the force of Riksis' much larger Shrapnel Launcher, putting up an admittedly poor fight compared to the Kings' usual ferocity.

"Seems like the Kings sent a poor choice for a scouting party" Riksis taunted, grabbing the third Vandal by the neck and hoisting him into the air. Not caring to hear a response, Riksis tightened his grip, crushing the Vandal's windpipe before tossing him off like a simple object without purpose. Watching with a low smile as the Devil Dregs began to win out over the King Dregs, Riksis decided to get into contact with his sniper support.

_1/4 mile away, on a withered and battered outpost catwalk…_

"I'd say that went well." Riksis' sniper commented, standing up and throwing her Wire Rifle onto her back before pulling her sword from the throat of the deceased King Vandal whose position she took.

"Agreed. Get back to camp, I won't be long." Riksis ordered, noting the need to watch what he said as a Devil Captain with a unique armored shoulder pad, possessing two curved spikes on it, walked up to join him.

"Love you too, Riksis." The female Vandal said before closing the line, knowing Riksis would've said something similar if her Captain wasn't within earshot of him.

Post-Chapter Note

Sorry that this introductory chapter was a bit small, it was mostly to set the situation up and make the transition to the Moon for the next chapter easier (And yes, you'll get to see that Mystery Knight next chapter). I'm also admittedly a bit nervous about how this story will do, as when compared to ones like Fireteam Warden, I only got as far as the prologue before worrying that people would think my story is going to be 2-D, small-scale, basic, and, well, just a load of non-reading-worthy crap.

Also, in the absence of an official Fallen language, I improv'd and made my own, which I'm writing down and keeping on hand to refer to for future Fallen-only scenes (They'll just use English when conversing with Guardians ala automatic translation methods, whether it be in their helmets or a Guardian's Ghost.). But, if the majority opinion is negative about the whole concept, I'll just axe it and use English across the board to not cram it down people's throats.

Third, the Fallen scene was put in to try and convey the long-term plan for this story, that it's going to be a mixture of more light moments and actual conflict/semi-serious kinds of things. I wish I could outright state the bigger things I have planned, but spoiling it wastes any sense of surprise when said moments come around. In addition, while the story will reference events in the main game from time to time, the actual direct events in this story are largely unrelated to it, and will be an attempt at adding things like The Crow back into the mix after Bungie axed it out.

I also didn't describe everyone's facial features because I wasn't sure if anyone would care to hear it. If many people _would _be interested to know what they look like beneath the helmets, I'll describe it soon, I just didn't want to waste anyone's time if it was largely not interesting to know. In addition, take note: Fireteam Komodo (The group seen for the majority of the chapter) count up to 5 members. You can have 6 at absolute max in-game. Now why might that be?…

Finally, Caldwell being an Exo, _technically _his name, like any Exo, is Caldwell-83, but his teammates and other-such people he associates with simply shorten it to Caldwell in a manner similar to how humans shorten Jonathan down to John or Michael down to Mike, same concept.


	2. New Nightmares

Chapter 2: New Nightmares

_Ridges surrounding the Temple of Xol, Earth's Moon_

"Doesn't this seem a bit off?" Carwyn wondered, finding the way they were divided to be a small bit strange.

"What do you mean?" Alvara questioned, laying prone on the cold, dusty ground, her Trajan-C sniper rifle resting by its barrel atop a small rock. Having been in this position for the last 15 minutes with absolutely no signs of any action, Alvara was resting the left cheek-region of her helmet on her left arm in boredom as she stared through the scope.

"I'm a Titan, and you specialized in being a Bladedancer: Why are we up here on the ridge instead of Caldwell and Merikh? Merikh's usually the one with a sniper, and I'm sure Caldwell's Nova Bomb could reach from here down to there if he tried." Carwyn explained, finding it strange that two close quarters-preferring Guardians were yards away up on a ridge for overwatch.

"While I'm not sure about you, Merikh wanted me to get accustomed to a sniper for the sake of…..he called it 'Role Diversity'. I call it _ridiculous_, personally." Alvara commented, not exactly finding watching three fireteam-mates stand outside a massive door to be good sniper practice. "Wait, looks like they finally got through."

Head snapping up in attention, Carwyn stared down into the small clearing, watching as the massive, encrusted lock-and-chain on the door to the temple begins to change. Slowly becoming enveloped in a green glow, the rune emblazoned in the lock's center is the last to go as the entire thing seems to disappear into thin air. With a thunderous crack, a line of dust explodes from the gap between the two massive, grey doors blocking access to the temple, said doors slowly swinging into the structure in an ominous greeting.

_And all was quiet._

"Ok….last time one of these temples was opened, Hive of all kinds stormed out. Where are they now?" Alvara asked over group comms, feeling that something was amiss.

"Oh, _crap!_ The Hive are up, and they're _**not happy!**_" Merikh yelled, Alvara noticing that all three of them were suddenly in a frantic backpedal, firing into the open temple doors. Focusing her scope to get a better view, Alvara quickly realized something very unsettling.

"Carwyn, get down there and help them. Those aren't Knights…." Alvara lightly ordered before firing her sniper, which ripped a chunk out of the ominous Knight-like Hive's shoulder as it continued to charge.

Standing a stocky 9'5" tall, these unusual Knights bore the same basic helmet design as a standard Knight, but instead of a forward-pointing horn, these Knights had a tapering, crescent-like curve about 6" across that curved backwards over the top of their helmet, possessing two lines of luminescent, bright green pin-like spikes running down the length of the crescent on its far left and right ends. It had the same glowing eyes as a Knight, but its mouth was covered by a hard, veil-like piece made from the same material as its helmet.

Its shoulder pads were of a similar shape, but they curved down over the edge of the shoulder to cover the Knight's biceps entirely, and its forearms were equally armored and possessed vibrant, green Hive Runes emblazoned into the back sides, the back of their gloves also having these runes.

The chest plating was more or less the same, the main difference being a more covered abdominal area, as well as a very peculiar decoration around their hips:

Every one of these Knights possessed what almost looked to be akin to a Titan Mark, consisting of a rectangular strip of dark green fabric embroidered with hundreds of small Hive runes hanging directly from the crotch region, almost like a loincloth, as well as equal-length strips of the same cloth hanging from its belt-line around the right side and back, almost like the Titan's Mark of the Chosen.

The legs were also different, possessing knee guards with a single, sharp spike protruding out. In addition to that, the shinguards seemed covered in a crystal-like collection of the same boney, hard material, as well as combat boot-shaped feet fused to the shinguards, small spikes being visible on the bottoms of each Knight's boot as they ran. While their armor was uniform, their armaments were vastly varied.

Of the four Knight-like Hive charging out, the one in front wielded what looked to be a naginata-like weapon comprised of a long, bumpy, dark grey staff connected to a razor sharp blade, which appeared to almost be made of bone. At the other end of the staff was a small strip of that same dark green cloth, almost like a decorative mark. To compliment that, the other three effortlessly wielded Cleavers in their left hands, and a strange, compact machine pistol-like gun in their right, the strange weapon firing elongated, glowing green spikes at an alarming rate as they ran.

Focusing on the naginata-wielding Knight in front, Alvara's aim was quickly skewed from its target as the Knight leapt forward with peculiar agility, both hands on its weapon's staff as it made a wide, sweeping swing at Merikh's feet. Missing, the Knight quickly recovered, readjusting its grip to point the bottom end of its weapon at Merikh, before initiating a vertical swing going upwards, then a followup downward diagonal slash, all narrowly missing. Frantically firing his Scout Rifle at the strange Knight, Merikh quickly got out of the way, trying to aim for the eyes in light of its lack of exposed flesh elsewhere. Putting out one of its eyes with a round, the Knight let out a blood-curdling, vicious roar before gripping its weapon near the blade end, thwacking Merikh off his feet and a good 10 feet away with the bottom end in a wide, arcing swing.

Sidestepping a forward leap from one of the dual-wielding Knights, Barrett took advantage of its Cleaver being lodged in the dusty floor to send a shell from his Graviton ESM straight through its elbow joint, rupturing the armor and disconnecting its forearm from the rest of its body. Wailing in pain, the Knight stumbled back to an upright stance before readjusting its posture, dropping its SMG to grip its Cleaver with its remaining hand. Yanking the large blade out of the ground, the Knight quickly kicked into motion, only missing Barrett due to the latter shoulder-charging into its stomach.

Thumping Barrett in the back with the bottom of its cleaver, the strange Knight followed up with a backhand to Barrett's head, making the Titan step back, but little else. Firing another shell into the Knight, this one went for the abdomen, tearing some of its armor apart. Going for a wide, low swing, the Knight's blade was stopped by Barrett's foot, who stepped on the side of it once it impacted before moving his ESM not 2 feet from the Knight's face. Firing a fatal shell, the shotgun ripped through the Knight's exposed eye region, causing the body within the armor to crumple to dust.

Not having as much luck with their two Knights, Merikh and Caldwell decided to group their targets together, wiry little Merikh running between them to get them close before Caldwell hurled a Nova Bomb between them, Merikh avoiding the blast just in time as the Knights were obliterated. Not having kept track of where the last Knight was, Caldwell whipped around to see it preparing to cleave him in two when a sniper round cracked out, chipping off the crescent of its helmet. Turning to see where the shot came from, the Knight all but forgot about Caldwell entirely.

"Hey, bone-boy! Come fight someone who can beat you at your own game!" Alvara yelled, coming down from her sniper position and throwing her sniper onto her back. Seemingly understanding the gist of what Alvara said, the Knight let out a low growl, setting into a full-tilt sprint at Alvara as she drew her knife. The considerably smaller blade becoming enveloped in Arc energy, Alvara matched the Knight's action.

Doing another leaping horizontal swing, the Knight missed as Alvara slid between its legs and under the blade, swinging her knife at its left shin and splitting the armor open. Not wounded enough to impede movement, the Knight surprised Alvara with a shield-shattering 180-degree twirl-swing, striking her in the back as she was rising to her feet. Hitting the ground shoulder-first, Alvara quickly used her forearms to push back to her feet, turning to meet her attacker as said Knight did a trio of diagonally vertical swings, going left, right, left before using an overhead, jumping downward slam to try and disorient her with all the dust it uplifted.

Avoiding the barrage, Alvara met the Knight's blade with hers, the superheated knife searing its way into the ultra-sharp, thin blade of the Knight's weapon, becoming lodged and bringing both combatants' swings to a halt. The rest of the Fireteam finally remembering what they should be doing, Barrett, Merikh, Carwyn, and Caldwell opened fire on the Knight's back, the sheer volume of fire slamming into its back whittling through the armor and tearing its decayed, delicate internals into dust.

Dropping its weapon, the Knight let out a low groan as it collapsed to its knees, an outstretched hand trying to grab Alvara as the fingers inside it visibly dissipated in a cloud of dust, the near-full body suit of armor clanking and rolling on the ground as it all came down.

"Whatever this is…..I'm just a _bit_ hesitant to call it a Knight." Alvara pointed out, picking up the strange Knight's helmet and spinning it around to face her teammates.

"A helmet probably wouldn't tell us much, and the Hive dissipating on death makes it even harder to tell if these things are any different…._ah!_ That right there might help." Caldwell's Ghost exclaimed, darting into sight and flashing a light over a piece of fabric lying in the dust. Picking it up for the Ghost, Merikh held the strip of dark green cloth, which had fallen off the Knight's belt, in his hand as Caldwell's Ghost scanned it. "_Interesting_…it's a lineage story."

"A _lineage story?_" Carwyn asked, cocking his head at an angle in confusion.

"Yeah, not too different from how you Titans and your Marks tell a story: These runes aren't for encryption or imbuing the cloth with some dark energy, it's a written tale of events that this sub-group of the Hive has been through. In simplistic terms, this particular one's like a written highlight reel of The Hidden Swarm's greatest triumphs. Not just over man, but over the Cabal, the Fallen, and other races we haven't even _seen _yet! This log must go back nearly a millennia…." Caldwell's Ghost elaborated, sounding absolutely fascinated with what he was learning.

"Anything on what these spear-carryin' Knights are called? Anything different?" Barrett inquired, kicking one of the dead Knight's gauntlets.

"First, it's called a Naginata, not the same. Second, if I'm translating this correctly, the closest English equivalent I can find is Cavalier. They're almost like Shock Troops in a way. Just…..more _religious devotion and zeal _than what you might typically imagine." Caldwell's Ghost clarified, finding it strange just how much religious conviction the Hive seemed to possess for their supposed god Oryx.

"So we'll call them Cavaliers. Better than Super-Knights or something like that." Caldwell settled, admittedly finding Cavalier to have a better ring to it.

"_Assholes_ would be a good substitute name if you ask me." Merikh quipped, placing the back of his left hand on his back and arching it inwards in light of getting thumped in the back earlier. Done scanning the piece of fabric, Caldwell's Ghost moved on to the Cavalier's strange, Naginata-like weapon, scanning that too.

"Well that's….._unsettling._ This weapon's made of bone, and not just one. In the staff piece I'm detecting Human, Fallen, and even a few Cabal Psion bones. The ornamental guard piece at the base of the blade seems to be fashioned from a large Cabal's skull, and the blade is…..unknown. If I had to guess, it almost looks like it belongs in some large Avian species' wing, but it's hard to say. Whatever it _is,_ it's both sharpened to a razor point and coursing with dark energy. In fact, the whole weapon seems like it's effectively glued together with some form of potent dark energy. Take that out and it'd just fall to pieces as a bunch of broken-up bone chunks." Caldwell's Ghost analyzed, thoroughly intrigued despite the morbid implications of the weapon's creation.

"So they're killing us using our own friends and enemies basically…I know I already stressed how much I hate the Hive, but it's things like _this_ that prove my point." Merikh pointed out, throwing up his hands with a light _I told you so _vibe in his voice.

"What about this thing? Last I checked the only automatic weapons the Hive had were their Shredders." Carwyn asked, kneeling down to look at the strange, one-handed SMG those other Cavaliers were wielding. Floating over to look at it, Caldwell's Ghost was interrupted by the dust behind the weapon shifting around slightly. A boney, grey left hand with long, sharp fingers shooting out of the ground, Caldwell's Ghost and Carwyn backed up quickly as another hand, this one coated in dark red armor plating from the tips of its fingers all the way down its arm, shot out as well. Pulling itself out of the dust, the figure was revealed to be a slightly bigger Acolyte, this one possessing two glowing orbs for eyes like a normal one, but with a vertical, slit-like third eye between and above them instead of a third orb.

Its mouth was veiled by the same mouthguard as a Cavalier, and it almost seemed to possess a mohawk-like row of green spikes running along the center of its helmet, down the back of its neck, and all the way down its back, ending at what looked to be a ripped and torn stump jutting from its posterior. Emblazoned on either side of its mouthguard were a glowing Hive Rune, which Caldwell's Ghost translated as meaning 'The vicious teeth of Oryx' in the Hive language. Why the Hive used orientations of tick marks and half-circles within a large symbol to distinguish the meaning of entire sentences eluded even him.

Its head was a bit lower-set than an Acolyte's, as well as being pushed forward slightly, almost like someone had knocked its whole spine out of line with a blow to the head. These strange spikes seemed to be a strong motif with the creature. running along the tops of its shoulders and down the outer side of both biceps. Its shoulder pads were similar to an Acolyte's, but both pads had a scythe-like crescent protrusion jutting out of the backside, curving down and inwards, stopping at around hip level. Wrapped around its neck was another piece of cloth like the Cavalier's, but instead of seeming peacefully there for decoration, this Acolyte-like Hive had it tied in a tight knot at the back like a sort of noose, the two ends of the strip of cloth going down its back in parallel formation all the way to the floor.

Its chestplate had a sort of V-shape, consisting of multiple stacked layers with the topmost one near its collar region, and what looked to be deep-running gashes throughout it, as if this one was a resurrected zombie even by Hive standards. Its legs were unusually double-jointed, with three large, downward pointing clawed toes in the front and a fourth in the back digging into the ground. Overall the creature stood roughly 6'5", and raised its more armored right hand as if to swipe at one of them, but was cut down in a hail of fire as they all responded accordingly.

Closer by the entrance to the temple, more dust disruptions could be seen, three more of these creatures rising from the sand, their bodies equally damaged and unarmed as the first one. To top it off, three more emerged from within the temple, these possessing less damaged armor, as well as a full-length, spiny, boney tail with those same green spikes running down the back of it in place of the ripped stump the first one had. Instead of being unarmed, these strange Acolytes were carrying peculiar, dark brown rifles that had a similar silhouette to an Auto-Rifle, but possessed a bright green glow coming from within the barrel, as well as having three barrels stacked in a triangle shape instead of one.

"These guys have a special name you could find too?" Barrett asked, taking a ready stance with his Auto-Rifle as the entire Fireteam prepared for another fight.

"The Cavalier's little data-cloth mentioned these things, but I was just hoping they wouldn't be here. If I translated it right, they're called _Marauders._" Caldwell's Ghost explained, a slight twinge of nervousness in his voice at the implications the name gave.

Post-Chapter Note

Don't really have anyone in particular I'd want to address unlike usual, but I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed since honestly, as long as it's not unconstructive hate, providing a good story and getting as much feedback as possible are my only two concerns in all of this.

With that said, any specific comments on the Cavalier and Marauder would be especially welcome, as I'm mostly trying to expand the Hive's arsenal of units in order to present more of that combat diversity Bungie initially wanted in the game. For example, the reason for the Marauder's weird appearance is they'll effectively be dual-sided: They have the strange feet that they do for the sake of being able to go back and forth between being an Acolyte-like front unit, or being incredibly agile and leaping from wall to wall, hanging on the roof, etc., almost like the Slipskulls from the first Resistance game.

Also, I'll be updating my profile with a lot of things, including what music and other sources inspired the direction for this story (Including my depiction of specific species), what stories I'm actively making an effort to update and which ones are backburner'd, which ones are going to be started soon, and ones I'd be open to doing but have a certain hitch preventing it presently. It's all really to just facilitate communication and involvement between me and my readers, since this is more than just something I do for kicks, I genuinely want to have a back-and-forth "community" of sorts.

What I mean specifically is something wherein readers leaving reviews make suggestions, ask questions, etc. and I can respond to that either by including the relevant info in a future chapter or in an Author's Note, anything from loose confirmations of what might or might not happen to why a certain character acts a certain way.

Finally, I cut this chapter a bit short before a big enemy reveal to ask: I want to include the 6th member of Komodo before reaching 10 chapters in this story, but I wanted to ask if any of you would like to see that right after this Moon excursion or a bit later than that.


	3. The Arm of Oryx

Chapter 3: The Arm of Oryx

Dispersing as the Marauders opened fire, the Fireteam quickly retaliated, ducking under the glowing green spikes as they ripped holes right through the strange new Hive.

"Let's head in already, the longer we stay out here, the more we're just wasting ammo." Caldwell directed, reloading his pulse rifle. Being the gun-lover that he is, Barrett stopped when he noticed something strange about a different rifle from the tri-barrel design, which was also on the ground.

"Hey, look at this: I can pick this thing up." Barrett noted, snatching up the old Hive rifle. Usually, Hive firearms were so potently charged with dark energy that a Guardian trying to hold it would be like gripping a fistful of hot coals. And yet, this rifle, he could carry. Flying over quickly, Caldwell's Ghost scanned it right there in Barrett's hands, his interest highly piqued.

"Interesting…..it's made from a Guardian's Auto-Rifle. Almost like they took it and modified it in their own way, a sort of reverse-engineering. The Light of its previous owner is still present….and almost being used like an accelerant to increase projectile velocity. I'd need to inspect it more later, but it seems like it could take normal AR mags. I also found a name: 'Necrochasm'…..might be worth calling it that." Caldwell's Ghost analyzed, finding it strange how the tiny sliver of a previous Guardians' Light seemed to enable Barrett to hold it.

"Well, whatever it is, I think I'll take it." Barrett semi-retorted, putting his old Auto-Rifle in his transmat-inventory and readjusting his grip on the Necrochasm. Proceeding inside, the Fireteam found that just beyond the doorway was a long, dark staircase, leading down to who-knows-where.

"If I wasn't technically one of the Fireteam leaders, I'd ask to stand guard at the _door…_" Merikh muttered, keeping his scout rifle raised as he descended the staircase, the rest of his team not far behind. Following the staircase as it wound down in a spiral shape, the imagery got more and more disturbing.

"Meathooks….more lit candles than the City's got people…..and a morbid sense of decoration. At least the Hive know how to make it feel homy." Barrett noted as they descended, the walls being lined with thousands upon thousands of small candles illuminating the otherwise dark staircase. Dangling from the ceiling were a series of unsettling chains, some having large metal hooks with sharp points on the end, while others had what looked like a sick mockery of a wind-chime, made from the skeletal remains of Human and Fallen victims.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: _This_ is why I try to avoid Hive assignments. I'd kiss a Cabal before I'd suggest to come here." Merikh protested, his vehement distaste of the Hive getting more and more obvious. It wasn't even the eyes or the frail decayed frames that got him, it was their likeness to a twisted cult with dark power that did him in.

"_Calm down Merikh_….we're just here to see what the Hive are up to. I'd say it's like a deep reconnaissance mission, but that would only be fitting if they didn't know we were here." Caldwell tried to assure, knowing full-well that the Hive were Merikh's one weakness. Vex? A-OK. Cabal? Large-bodied target practice as he called it. Fallen? Skittery little bastards. But the _Hive?_ Merikh would be out the door faster than you can say Traveler's Light if he had the choice. "Why don't you flip your card if it makes you feel better?"

Taking it as a good idea, Merikh withdrew his favorite keepsake from underneath a band wrapped around his right forearm. It was a small, rectangular lead plate with two ancient playing cards stuck to it, the Joker on one side and the Ace of Spades on the other. When in doubt, Merikh would toss and catch the card, and which side he found himself looking at, he took as a sign of things to come. If he struck an Ace of Spades, something good would happen. If he hit the Joker, something bad would happen. Tossing the card as he kept descending, Merikh caught it, his heart sinking when it came up as the Joker.

Putting the card away, Merikh tried to think it was all just his nerves as they reached the bottom of the staircase, reaching a massive, open room. There were coffins lining most of the walls, their quantity only rivaled by the quantity of that mysterious, squishy, black glop that usually accumulated wherever the Hive resided. Their Ghosts starting to appear to give some light, all of them halted from doing so as a Wizard floated by. This one was different, possessing two prominently glowing eyes, a much different skirt, a more defined and visible mouth, and a collar of strange spikes going over one shoulder. Taking cover, they watched.

"What's this Wizard doing…..don't they usually just torture Ogres to make them a great big ball of rage all day?" Alvara asked, seated with her back against the wall as the Wizard softly drifted around the room, as if she were maintaining something. Floating up to one of the coffins, the Wizard gently stroked her claws over the front of it, bringing her head close as if looking for something. Gripping a small handle on the side of the coffin, the Wizard wrenched it downwards. Popping open, the coffin swung open with a hiss and a cloud of black smoke as an Acolyte fell out. Strangely, its eyes were dim, and it had no armor on.

Its eyes flickering before gaining their full, searing glow, the Acolyte tried to stand up, its legs wobbly and off-balance as the Wizard helped it stand. Picking the Acolyte up, the Wizard floated off with the newly-created Acolyte, Caldwell getting a theory together.

"She's…. like a caretaker. It seems as if that Wizard is almost acting in a mother or nurse role, seeing to the creation of new Hive and caring for them like a child until they're ready to go." Caldwell analyzed, thankful that his studies into psychology and neurological patterns in his off-time let him give a more thought-out response than just _Seems like she carts smaller Hive around._

"Just when I thought the Hive couldn't get any creepier….now I've seen a Wizard play _mommy._" Merikh satirically noted, his irate complaining finally earning him a strike in the ribs from Alvara.

"If that's where the Acolytes come from….we're _surrounded_, aren't we?" Carwyn pointed out, factoring in the point that if that coffin held an Acolyte, the massive amount of coffins around the room meant there were upwards of 40+ Acolytes around them. Not to mention, they didn't know if Knights were created in a different coffin or not, leaving the possibility of some Knights in here too.

"Technically, you're right. But, on the bright side, we don't know if all of these coffins are occupied or not, and plus, the Wizard let that one out. I doubt they've got an automatic release switch on newborn Hive that can't even fight yet, so we just need to worry about the already up Hive that might walk in." Caldwell assured, rising to his feet slowly as it seemed that the Wizard was long gone. Slowly looking around, Caldwell was hesitant to give an all-clear for their Ghosts to use their flashlights, as they currently had the element of surprise. The air getting more and more tense, Caldwell led the fireteam out of the room and into a more well-lit area. Finding themselves at an overhanging platform, they peered down to find another strange Hive ritual.

"What's with all the smoke in the air? Is there a fire and nobody seems to care?" Alvara asked, watching the gathering down below them.

"Judging by what little I can glean from scanning the air around us, it almost seems like the Hive equivalent of incense. I wouldn't breathe it in though, just because the Hive can provides little evidence that it isn't lethal to anything that isn't practically dead." Caldwell's Ghost explained, eye turning back to the event going on down below. It was another room covered in lit candles, this one in the shape of a large, circular, almost auditorium-like room, with rows of Acolytes and Knights down on their knees. Hands placed over their knees and their heads pointed down to the floor, the Hive seemed to almost be in a state of meditation, all surrounding a lone Wizard floating in the center of the room. Slowly drifting around the small circular section of floor she had, the Wizard began to sing in a loose sense of the word.

Not saying any comprehensible words, the Wizard sang in a manner akin to a necrotic opera singer, hands moving around in gentle, wide-armed gestures. Turning aimlessly as if guided by the force of her arm gestures, the Wizard continued to serenade the meditating Hive surrounding her.

"I recognize that name…it's-" Caldwell's Ghost began to explain, being cut off by a voice behind them.

"Ir Yût, a Deathsinger. Here to give her daily serenade to the loyal disciples of Crota." The voice finished, the Fireteam turning around to find a darkly-dressed woman standing behind them. She had a strange symbol painted on her chest piece, what little of her skin they could see was a sickly pale color, and she had a black piece of cloth wrapped tightly over her eyes. Where her eyes should be, there were two glowing green dots, a third one above and between them like an Acolyte. Trailing down from said eyes was a tear stain-like stream of moving black ink, which was quite unsettling.

"_And you are….?_" Caldwell inquired, weapon raised at the unknown person.

"Eris Morn, I was one of six Guardians who dared to challenge Crota. Only I survived." Eris explained, a small green orb floating between her hands.

"I've heard of you….the massacre that claimed Guardians like Toland and Omar Agah, all in that one great tragedy. The City thought you were dead." Caldwell informed, easing his stance. "What's with the orb?"

"Crota took my Light, my Ghost, everything. In that moment, I was able to raise my hand for one last strike, and I took it. It wasn't in any way close to doing him any serious harm, but after he had left, presuming me dead, I found my strike had chipped off a chunk of the monstrous god-king's very being. With my Light gone, I took the shard in my hands, and it encased itself within this bubble you see now. It's bound to me, I'm bound to it: me and the shard are intertwined at the soul." Eris explained, a slight grimace on her face as she remembered that fateful day. Toland didn't even get to see Crota, and Omar was dead from one of Crota's many disciples with little effective resistance.

"Well, you're still on our side, right? Because if you're going to turn into another Dredgen Yor, I'm dropping you right here." Merikh threatened as he raised his Scout Rifle, the tip not 5" from Eris' face. Eris didn't even flinch.

"I want nothing more than to see Crota's armies shattered and his soul extinguished. I promise I'm on your side." Eris assured, prompting Caldwell to push the barrel-end of Merikh's gun down. What little they could see of Eris' face starting to gain an off, unsettled expression, Eris pulled her right hand away from her mysterious orb, drawing a Regulator Mk. 43 Hand Cannon. Merikh raising his rifle again, a single round cracked out from Eris' weapon, yet nobody seemed to get hit. Turning around slowly, the entire Fireteam noted as Eris' aim wasn't terrible, she just wasn't aiming at them. Letting out a low growl, the Marauder that was preparing to run Merikh through the back with the tip of its Necrochasm rifle slowly fell apart, the hole where its third eye should've been getting the point across strongly. "We might want to run. _Now._"

Noticing that the singing had stopped, the entire Fireteam turned to look behind them, Ir Yût having ceased her serenade in favor of almost yelling orders to the Hive surrounding her. That in tandem with her violent pointing gestures in the Fireteam's direction, and the picture was quite obvious.

"I'd call that a good idea…_move!_" Caldwell yelled, him and everyone else breaking into a sprint as the sound of wailing Thralls got louder and louder. Running back the way they came, all 6 of them ran through the massive, heavy double-doors leading back into that breeding chamber.

"Barrett, Carwyn, try and shove those doors closed! Caldwell and Eris, help Barrett. Alvara, you and me help Carwyn." Merikh ordered, everyone throwing themselves shoulder-first into the doors in an attempt to close them. Even with the strength of two Titans, the doors made a sickening, cracking noise as they slowly broke free from their encrusted, fixed state. Starting to budge, the doors gradually slammed shut, Barrett grabbing hold of a metal bar protruding from the far end of his door. Seeing the same thing on Carwyn's door, the two Titans pulled these bars together, slamming a crude lock system into place and sealing the door shut.

"And I thought your Exo friend was the leader…" Eris mumbled to Alvara, noting that both he and Merikh have exhibited leader-like behavior.

"Caldwell and Merikh, the Hunter in orange, run a sort of joint-leadership. Needless to say, there's been a bit of a back-and-forth debate between them about who's the better tactician. They're both good leaders and good at seeing the whole picture, but neither one can prove they're better than the other, so they settled on what we have now. Not the most rock-solid form of leadership, _but _it's worked for us so far." Alvara explained, relaxing her stance as everyone got their breath. Hearing a faint crunching noise, Caldwell cocked his head slightly to the side in confusion as he tried to register what was causing it.

"Anyone else hear that? I _don't_ think we're-" Caldwell started to state as their Ghosts appeared to provide some light. Making a long turn to sweep the room for signs of more life, Caldwell's flashlight passed over a crouched Thrall, the decrepit monster letting out a bone-chilling shriek before leaping right at him, cutting him off. Wrapping its boney legs around his hips, the Thrall rode Caldwell to the floor, wrenching his helmet off before trying to take swings at his exposed face. The faint glow of his white optics illuminating the Thrall's eyeless face, Caldwell let go of his pulse rifle, bringing both hands up to hold back the Thrall's arms. Screaming in frustration that it couldn't claw Caldwell's face apart, the Thrall was oblivious as Caldwell pressed the back of his head into the floor, quickly swinging it straight up to headbutt the Thrall. Caving the top of the Thrall's fragile skull in, Caldwell was able to push to his feet as the Hive's body went limp and disintegrated.

Grabbing his rifle and helmet, everyone started to whip around as the sound of a wet, tearing noise began to occur. Looking up, the Ghosts shined their lights upwards to see a faint, green light poking through the various cocoons hanging from the ceiling. Watching as the Thralls within slowly cut through their cocoons, the entire Fireteam and Eris moved out from under as the Thralls fell from the roof. Still coated in a fine, glossy liquid as they rose to their feet, the Thralls skittered to their feet and sprinted at the first non-Hive they saw. Opening fire, the Fireteam let loose as their rounds smashed through the newly-created Thralls' underdeveloped armor, cutting them down even easier than usual.

Their deaths causing a massive dust-storm as their disintegrated remains were flung around by the still-living Thralls sprinting through, nobody saw as a Marauder, alerted by the ruckus, sprinted in. Dual-wielding those strange, black SMG-like spike-throwing guns, the Marauder ran through the dust-storm, leaping straight up and flipping upside down to clutch a hanging meathook with its feet. Using its momentum to swing the meathook like a chandelier, the Marauder opened fire, sending down a hail of glowing green spikes as it let go of the meathook, latching onto the wall behind its targets next. Not staying for long, the Marauder leapt next to one of the columns around the room, putting away its guns to skitter on all fours out of sight around the column's far side.

Keeping the Fireteam's attention, the Marauder left them looking in the wrong place as a Naginata-wielding Cavalier sprinted into the room as well, narrowly missing Eris with a sweeping horizontal slash. Getting pushed out of the way, Eris was surprised to see it was Barrett of all people, who leapt up to strike the Cavalier across the face with his right forearm. Stumbling back, the Cavalier regained its senses as it wound up a swing with its Naginata to try and bisect Barrett. Putting away his rifle, Barrett caught the weapon just short of the blade, his feet sliding backwards just a few inches as they dug into the floor. Locking in a stalemate, neither combatant seemed to have an advantage.

"Can somebody try and _shoot this asshole?!_" Barrett yelled, pushing forward with all his strength as he held back the Cavalier's blade. Having just run dry in his mag, Merikh frantically tried to think of the fastest way to help, resulting in his decision to toss a throwing knife directly at the Cavalier. Puncturing its third eye, the throwing knife caused the Cavalier to let go, bringing its hands up to wrench the knife free from its eye. Too preoccupied with that, the Cavalier failed to notice as Barrett flipped the Naginata around to hold it properly, swinging the blade right into the Cavalier's neck. With the Cavalier down, they were able to focus their attention elsewhere as the Marauder popped up again, trying to shoot them from the side of a column. Retaliating, one of Merikh's rounds shattered the Marauder's ankle, causing it to let go and fall to the floor. Writhing in panic as it tried to get up, the Marauder's tail was like a weapon all its own as it whipped back and forth, the strange Hive being silenced by more gunfire soon after.

"I'd say we've seen everything there is to see, let's go. Eris, you can ride with one of us." Caldwell ordered, turning to prepare to leave. Ikora was going to know they needed to step up their efforts on studying the Hellmouth.

"Not yet, there's something you need to see first. This way." Eris guided, signaling for everyone to follow her. Leading them through a different door, Eris could almost feel the way to her target, the shard of Crota guiding her. Everyone hurrying as the sound of screaming Thralls could be heard not far off, Eris led them through another door, and another, until they came to an open, ominous room. In the center was a tall structure, almost like a large globe, with numerous pin-like arms poking at it repeatedly. "A Shrine of Oryx. If we can destroy it, we slow the Hive's advance. Without it, their lane of communication with their god grows thinner."

"I've seen this before, another Guardian destroyed one just like this. Their Ghost shared the algorithm to weaken its defenses, shouldn't take me long." Caldwell's Ghost appeared, flying into a small chamber at the base of the shrine. Starting to tamper with it, this triggered one of the chamber's doors to slide open. With thunderous footsteps, a massive Cavalier, almost as tall as the pedestal the shrine's orb sat upon, stepped out, wielding a proportionately massive Naginata. Its body was cracked and seething with cyan energy, its eyes glowing the same color instead of the typical green. Dragging the Naginata along the floor, the Cavalier let out an ear-splitting roar, just as their HUDs gathered a name:

_Kradok, the Arm of Oryx_

"Oh dear…reports show one of these was at the other Shrine too. They appear to be some kind of guardian." Merikh's Ghost appeared, looking at the giant Cavalier.

"Do those reports say anything about the other one carryin' a bigass cleaver on a stick?" Barrett asked, ready to open fire on its head.

"For the last time, it's called a _Naginata!_" Caldwell's Ghost yelled from within the shrine, becoming quite irate at Barrett's inability to understand the difference. Falling back, all Guardians and Eris fled as Kradok charged them, performing a leaping overhead slam. Missing its targets, the thunderous clang of the blade smashing into the ground echoed through the room, being followed up with a sweeping right to left swing. Letting out another howl, Kradok called for backup, its call being answered as four Cavaliers, two Ogres, and a group of Marauders stormed in.

"God _dammit! _Ogres, take cover!" Merikh yelled, sprinting to avoid an Ogre's head-beam. Sliding behind a piece of cover, he was ambushed as a Marauder dual-wielding a pair of strange, sickle-like blades leapt at him. Currently seated with his back against his cover piece, Merikh bent forward, ducking as the Marauder's blade struck the cover behind him. Swinging his leg in a sweep motion, Merikh tripped the Marauder, stumbling to his feet before putting three rounds through the Marauder's head. Being attacked by a second one, Merikh side-stepped as this Marauder, dual-wielding those black spike-throwers, tried to shoulder-bash him. Missing, the Marauder got him anyway with an abrupt tail-swipe, the pointed tip of its tail slashing his left shin. Hurling a knife at the Marauder, it did very little, pinging off the Marauder's reinforced chestplate. Running out of options, Merikh's issue was quickly resolved as Barrett charged in, tackling the Marauder.

"Go help Caldwell with the Ogres, I got this one." Barrett ordered, trying to throw a straight punch directly into the Marauder's eyes. Jerking its head out of the way, the Marauder survived as Barrett's fist cracked the floor, placing one foot on Barrett's stomach before shoving him off. Using all its strength, the Marauder was actually able to launch Barrett into the low ceiling they were under at the back of the shrine, disorienting him as he fell back down. Making a quick whipping motion, the Marauder was able to flip onto its feet, foregoing its guns as it let out a guttural screech noise, swinging a wide-arcing kick into Barrett's head as the Titan was on one knee, preparing to get up. Falling onto his hands and knees, Barrett shoved straight up, catching the Marauder's next kick before twisting its leg. Causing the Marauder to fall to the floor, Barrett yanked backwards, ripping the Hive's leg right out as it disintegrated into dust. Not done, the Marauder writhed onto its hands and remaining knee, leaping onto Barrett. Digging its claws into his collar, the Marauder was quickly struck in the abdomen, followed by having its frail neck split apart as Barrett pulled out his Necrochasm rifle, dragging the pointed tip across its neck.

Meanwhile, Alvara was serving as a distraction for the Ogres, sliding between one's legs only to rise and keep running behind it as it turned to face her. Becoming heavily frustrated, the Ogres failed to notice as Caldwell leapt from his cover position, hurling a Nova Bomb directly into an Ogre's back. Disintegrating it, this left the other one without backup as Alvara leapt onto its back, knife in one hand and auto-rifle in the other as she clung onto the decrepit monster. Wedging her knife between some of the Ogre's ribbed back-plates, Alvara pulled backwards, starting to pry one of them off. Feeling it pop out of place, Alvara was then able to wedge her auto-rifle's barrel between the plate and the Ogre's body, firing off her mag straight into the back of its heart. Not quite dead, the Ogre was able to writhe and twist violently enough to hurl Alvara off, who landed shoulder-first against the hard ground a few feet away.

"Well, at least I did some damage…." Alvara mumbled, seeing the Ogre prepare to vaporize her with its head-beam, right until a rocket struck it in the side of the head. Letting out a crying roar, the Ogre's arms flung out in front as if desperately trying to reach for Alvara as it collapsed into dust. Looking to her right, sure enough Caldwell had her back, putting away his Deacon RS/2 Rocket Launcher. Rising to her feet and sprinting off of the open field to avoid Kradok, Alvara went from one mess right into another as Carwyn twisted the head right off the last Marauder, only to avoid being cleaved apart by a Cavalier. All four dual-wielding a Cleaver in one hand and the strange spike-gun in the other, the Cavaliers quickly lost one as Merikh blew a hole clean through the back of one's head, alerting the other three. Being distracted as Eris, still having not lost her touch as a Hunter, nimbly sidestepped through the room to fire on them, the Cavaliers quickly decided to split up. One going for Merikh, another for Eris, and the third for Caldwell and Alvara, they tried to divide and conquer.

Trying to shorten Eris at the neckline, the Cavalier that targeted her leapt forward and tried to swing its Cleaver in a straight right-to-left slash, the blade impacting the wall of the shrine's entrance hall with a loud clang. Putting one of its eyes out with a quickdraw round to the head from her hand cannon, Eris ran into a bit of trouble as the Cavalier's panicked spray of spike fire grazed her left thigh, tearing through her uniform and drawing blood. Both combatants heading to the floor, the Cavalier dropped to a kneel while Eris hit the floor face-down, lifting her head and right arm to fire on the Cavalier's face again. Cracking its mouthguard, Eris found her luck running thin as the Cavalier stood up again, placing one boot on Eris' back as it tried to sadistically crush her ribs flat. Bearing down with more and more pressure as time went on, the Cavalier was only moments away from hearing the sickening crack it desired when a heavy blow struck it in the back. Flying off its feet and past Eris, that blow just so happened to be Barrett, barreling into the Cavalier's back with a shoulder-charge. Drawing his shotgun, Barrett delivered a heavy stomp to the back of the Cavalier's head, disorienting it before leaving very little head left to stomp as he point-blank blasted it.

Merikh having dealt with his Cavalier much like the first one, all that was left was Caldwell and Alvara's Cavalier, who was currently pinned down. Taking cover just inside the Shrine while Alvara and Caldwell were outside, the Cavalier couldn't get three seconds to run out there without receiving a hail of gunfire, Caldwell and Alvara conveniently also being in a position where Kradok couldn't reach them. Not knowing what was about to hit it, the Cavalier was surprised when one of Eris' old throwing knives struck it in the back of the head, followed by a round through its right shoulder from Merikh's sniper. Severing the arm, the Cavalier's left leg was next, being split at the knee by Barrett's shotgun. Yelping repeatedly in a combination of furious anger, confusion, and panic, the Cavalier frenetically hopped on its remaining leg, swinging its Cleaver wildly as it tried to hit something. _Anything._

Not making it much longer, the Cavalier got struck from all angles at once as every one of them fired, Eris grazing its neck while Caldwell and Alvara riddled its chest, Barrett tearing off the other arm with his shotgun as Merikh delivered the finale headshot with his sniper. Having a moment's peace, Merikh was the first to notice Carwyn's absence, as well as the repeated pulse rifle fire outside the shrine. Before any of them could act, a thunderous noise erupted, sounding similar to a rift tearing in space as the color around them distorted. Crescendoing in a massive explosion and a flash of light above their heads, all of them ran outside to the sight of Carwyn dodging Kradok, having taken out the Shrine of Oryx following Caldwell's Ghost disabling its defenses. Seeing one of the pin-like arms had fallen back and was pointing out towards the door Kradok emerged from, Merikh got an idea.

"Alvara, you and Caldwell get Kradok's attention. Barrett, you're with me." Merikh ordered, Eris being left hanging without any directive. Giving an open-armed '_Seriously?_' gesture, Eris decided to just go with Caldwell and Alvara.

"Hey, _big guy! Over here!_" Alvara yelled at the top of her lungs, hurling a Flux Grenade into Kradok's back. Detonating with little actual damage dealt, it still served its purpose as Kradok turned to face her and Caldwell, only having further reason to chase as Caldwell hurled an Axion Bolt as well. Taking the bait, Kradok cleared the gap in a few short strides, trying to cleave both Guardians in two as he unknowingly stepped right into position.

"Alright, _now!_" Merikh yelled, drawing a Hand Cannon from his pocket. Raising it straight up, the gun became enveloped in a golden glow, almost on fire with the intensity of the sun itself as he fired three vibrant, solar-charged rounds directly into Kradok's head. Stumbling backwards from the force of the rounds, Kradok was finally eliminated as Barrett's body became enveloped in electricity, leaping directly at Kradok's feet with both arms raised over his head. Slamming the ground with both fists, the resulting electrical blast caused enough of a concussive shock to force Kradok the rest of the way back, the pin-like arm from the shrine protruding through the back of its neck. Dropping its Naginata, the Arm of Oryx failed in its mission as it gripped the pin with both arms, collapsing into dust as its massive armor struck the ground, causing noise akin to chunks of a building falling off.

"Good…..with the Arm of Oryx destroyed, the Hive grow weaker. With Guardians like you, we may just stand a chance." Eris semi-complimented, putting away her hand cannon.

"In that case, let's get the hell out, _now. _I love the Hive as much as the next undead guy, but seriously, let's leave, _please._" Merikh pleaded, just about to turn and leave when he heard a bit of commotion behind him.

"Eris, you're hit. You could probably use some help walking." Caldwell pointed out, Eris' leg grazing looking nastier as time went on.

"I'm fine, I've survived this long against the Hive, so I don't need anyone to help me-" Eris started to rebuke, her wounded leg giving way under her as she went face-first for the floor.

"Yep, definitely used to be a Hunter….." Merikh lowly chuckled, finding that a Hunter's hard-headed sense of independence almost seemed to come with the job automatically.

_Meanwhile, Somewhere in Old Russia, 2 PM…._

These were always the best assignments. No Captain Sigaris to loom over her shoulder and judge her every move, no nosey Dregs trying to prod her into putting in a good word about them to Riksis, just her and the open wilderness. Sitting with her back against a rock, the Vandal Kyva closed her eyes, relaxed with Wire Rifle in her lap as the gentle sound of the wind blew through, her mind doubling back to how thankful she was that Sigaris wasn't here. He wasn't a misogynist, nor was he exceptionally cruel to the other Devils, there was just something about her in particular that swung his mood to that of a far more abusive, iron-fisted commander with an almost direct disdain for the Vandal's very presence. Honestly, the only reason Riksis hadn't caved his skull in for pestering her yet is his lineage ties to the Kell, giving him a form of immunity to do as he pleased. Hearing a distinct howling noise, Kyva's mind snapped back to attention as she remembered that she's supposed to be the only Devil scouting party in the area, and it hasn't even been an hour. Riksis wouldn't send out a search party unless she'd been gone for 6. Quickly asserting a kneeling position, Kyva scanned the scenery through her scope, spotting the last thing she wanted to see.

_A King Hunting Party…..just what I didn't need _Kyva mentally lamented, her irritation growing even higher as she verified that they did, in fact, have Shivs with them. Affectionately named for their small knife-like teeth, the four-legged hunting hounds had 6 glowing blue eyes, three lined up side-by-side on either side of their long, razor tooth-filled mouths. Possessing three rows of sharp, almost blade-like teeth, the creatures had a small crest of fur atop their heads, offset by their dark brown, leathery skin and spiney quills running down their backs. With four clawed toes on each foot, the Shivs frenetically leapt and bounded over rocks and into crevices, searching for even the slightest fresh scent of a hostile creature. Dressed in special Shiv-specific body armor that covered their chest, the top of their head, and their legs, the Shivs were quite obviously yellow in color, flying their House colors without even knowing it. About to take a shot, Kyva hesitated when she saw another special King unit, the BladePriest.

Standing roughly right in-between the average height of a Captain and the average height of an Archon or Archon Priest, the BladePriest had the same helmet as an Archon Priest, though its non-yellow areas were tinted a reflective, almost chrome-like metal color. Matching that, the rest of its body consisted of ribbed, almost overlapping metal pieces, all the same dark chrome color. With four large, curved, knife-like blades affixed to the front of each foot in a manner resembling clawed toes, the BladePriest's scariest feature were still its weapons. Wielding a Shrapnel Launcher in its upper hands, the two lower hands were left free to hang, both lower arms having large, dual-bladed wrist-blades affixed to their forearms. Diving behind her rock for cover, Kyva let the patrol pass, knowing that even she, in all her experience fighting the Kings, couldn't take a BladePriest on her own. Listening as the footsteps got quieter, the silence was abruptly ended as a poorly aimed Hand Cannon round barely chipped the edge of the rock she hid against. Looking to where the shot came from, standing there were two Guardians, one holding a rickety old Hand Cannon while the other blindly seemed to not notice his safety was still on. Not impressed, Kyva aimed in and fired on the one with the Hand Cannon, the white cloth wrapped around his neck being stained red as his life quickly ended.

Throwing her Wire Rifle onto her back, Kyva bolted to her feet, closing the gap between her and the remaining Guardian, a Warlock only barely into his first day of new life. Not knowing how to respond as his gun wasn't firing, the Warlock tried vainly to swing at Kyva, meekly striking the side of her helmet with the stock of his Auto-Rifle. Now vastly more irritated, Kyva drew her Shock Swords, slashing one over the Warlock's stomach before slashing the other one over his neck, the Warlock's helmet morbidly rolling backwards off his shoulders. Sheathing her swords, something caught Kyva's eyes. Hands darting out quickly to snatch it, Kyva intercepted the dead Warlock's Ghost, keeping it firmly stuck between all four hands as she moved her thumbs out of the way, allowing its eye to stare up into hers.

"What can you tell me?" Kyva asked, the Ghost's eye flickering as it translated her speech, debating whether it should play along or not. Having always been more interested in restoring her people to their former glory rather than just spitefully killing humans, Kyva was genuinely excited to see if this strange machine could tell her something.

Post-Chapter Note

Not much to say aside from that I'm greatly thankful for all the feedback, and I hope this chapter went well. I tried to heavily emphasize the creepy aspect of the Hive while still making them seem like an intelligent civilization, and even adding in a tinge of that Undead Royalty stuff Bungie mentioned. Needless to say I'll be doing more of that going forward, as we get more into Hive palaces instead of temples, but one step at a time. Also, a big part of my depiction of the Deathsinger here came from something that was cited in the design of the Vagary boss from Doom 3: "Sexy + Gross = Creepy". While there's nothing really outright gross about the Deathsinger's appearance, it's mostly the combination of her engaging in an action that almost seems beautiful (What can almost be described as a form of opera singing) and the way she moves while doing so coupled with her…not so beautiful appearance that makes it creepy. Less focused on up-front gross imagery and more focused on subliminal vibes of a sort of sick, twisted beauty in its own way.

Second, any feedback on the limited appearance of the Shivs and the Bladepriest would be greatly appreciated, as this was mostly a teaser to throw the ideas out there and get a grasp on a general opinion before I really heavily use them. I've still got another Fallen unit to show, which I'll say now is named the Thug, as well as a Cabal unit named the Decurio that I teased in my other Destiny story. There's also ideas for a new Vex unit, but that's not as far along. Mostly trying to draw inspiration from something without outright copying that thing, so I'm trying to find ways to make the unit feel more unique. Also, I'll say it now, Eris will appear quite a few times throughout the story. I wasn't too fond of her before the Dark Below released, but after getting to play it, hear her dialogue, and play her Quests, she's heavily grown on me since then. I won't spoil anything, but I will say there's a happy ending in it all for her.

Finally, since this story is mostly avoiding directly depicting missions from the game, that includes the Raids. To signify when they happen in a manner more significant than just "Oh, BTW, the Vault of Glass got knocked over by a team of Guardians last week", if anybody wants to send PMs of details regarding a Guardian of their choosing to be depicted in the story, please do so. I'll most likely mark such events with a Tower award ceremony where 6 chosen PMd Guardians stand and be commended, but I might also cut to them actively in the Raid for a brief period (Just not the whole thing). While Komodo and my three Guardians I play (Who are actually totally separate from Komodo, they'll pop in every now and then as deuteragonist-ey characters) will abide by the one Exotic Weapon and one Exotic Armor rule, I couldn't care less what you guys want your armor to be, so long as it's all from the same class. Want to have Ruin Wings, the Alpha Lupi Crest, and the Stand Asides together on the same Titan? Go right ahead. All I need is a name, gender, species, armor list (Or description if it's custom), and class. Age, personality, and weapons are optional, so send that too if you want, but you don't have to. Every FF user who sends in a Guardian will have their name and the name of their Guardian credited at the end of any chapter their Guardian appears in. It won't be incredibly soon that the Vault happens, but I promise it will happen. And if your submission isn't picked, they might still appear in some other manner, so always keep an eye out.


	4. Unsettled Settlement

Chapter 4: Unsettled Settlement

_In the Tower, Earth's Last City…_

"So, where's Merikh?" Caldwell asked, walking with Alvara as they moved away from the VTOL shuttle that took them up here.

"With Barrett and Carwyn at some bar in the lower districts, something about them having better alcohol for forgetting experiences than the higher-class areas." Alvara answered with a smile, her vibrant red hair almost seeming to be part of a theme, in line with her glowing orange eyes and faded red facial markings, all offset by her dull, slightly blue-tinted skin.

"I'm surprised he took charge so well against Kradok, I'd say he earned it." Caldwell admitted, seeing Eris standing by the stairs leading down to the Vanguards. Walking over to join them, her leg wound was covered by a white piece of cloth wrapped around it, the small pieces of cloth protruding from the end of the knot giving an oddly innocent vibe in comparison to Eris' otherwise dark and morbid appearance. "Looks like somebody's doing better, did the doctor let you off easy or did you sneak out?"

"I was let off easy in light of it being a minuscule injury. Are both of you ready to help back up my point to the Vanguard? You've seen what the Hive are capable of." Eris asked, hoping these two had her back so she didn't seem like a blubbering witch.

"Relax, we'll have your back on this." Caldwell assured, placing one hand on Eris' shoulder. Walking down to the Vanguard's table, what they found was an incredibly peculiar sight.

"And, as you can see, they are _completely _safe and under my control." A scrawny young man, not possibly older than 20, explained. What was so confusing was that the 'they' he was referring to were a pair of bright white Vex Goblins. Behind that were a pair of bright white Vex Hobgoblins, and behind _them _were two bright white Vex Minotaurs. Strangely, their eyes were glowing blue instead of red, and they were active, yet simply standing at attention completely unarmed instead of trying to kill the Vanguard. Emblazoned on the right shoulders of the Minotaurs, at the end of both Hobgoblins' horns, and on the foreheads of the Goblins, was the Traveler's symbol. In addition, all three types had a fur collar around their necks not unlike the one on Arcite 99-40.

"And….how, exactly, did you make these things?" Ikora Rey asked, finding their docile manner almost off-putting.

"Oh, my older brother's a Warlock. I asked him to round up some dead Vex for me and bring them to our family's old farmhouse outside the City. Apparently my grandparents abandoned it when the City was first being built, and the Fallen never touched it. I've got a license to leave the City when I want since my brother's a Guardian, so after he got me some dead Vex, I stripped them out. I removed all the nerve-strands, the MindCore, and all its neural interfaces. Literally all that's left is a lifeless, metal frame, and whatever weird alloy their outer plating's made of. The plates and frame themselves aren't part of the Vex interfaces, much like how a human's bones don't have anything to with your nerves. So, basically, this is just a big hunk of metal and weird alloys from Traveller-knows-where that's shaped like a Vex, I even swapped out the whole optic system for the same one Frames use." The man explained, gesturing his hands in front of the Goblins as he spoke.

"I'm pretty sure she was mostly asking how you got it to run. I mean, unless you've got some strings holding them up like a puppet-master." Cayde satirically clarified, admittedly impressed despite the deathly massive safety risks.

"Oh, that….well, in absence of the MindCore and nerve-strands, I replaced those parts with a Frame's AI core and the circuitry commonly used in Frames. It's literally a Frame wearing a different set of clothes, so to speak. I covered up the exposed core regions with some armor plating, and calibrated the Frame systems to register all Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex as hostiles. It'll also register non-uniformed humans, Exos, and Awoken carrying weapons as hostile, but in the case of those it'll only shoot if a request for the target to stand down is ignored. I even wrote my own special AI algorithms for weapon handling, so its range of weaponry is less restrictive." The young engineer elaborated, grabbing a few Auto-Rifles from a cart he had wheeled down here.

"Less restrictive?" Commander Zavala asked, his interest piqued.

"Yeah, here I have a pair of Suros Regime rifles that a few Guardians generously lent me for the sake of this demonstration. As you can see, the rifles are completely empty, and their mags are totally dry." The engineer showed, mostly to put the Vanguard's expected concerns to rest. "As I'm sure you know, the Suros Regime is a complicated rifle with a lot of data being fed back to the user through the little screen just below the optics. Between that and the multi-step loading process, and this gun's about as confusing to an average Frame as calculus to a carpenter. Using some special mimetic memory processes and motion capturing tech, I was able to basically let these things learn through repetition and memory as I operated the weapon myself. Retaining my motions, these machines basically learned how to operate the weapon themselves."

"Notice how quickly he said basically twice? He's nervous." Alvara whispered with a low chuckle, watching as the man continued to give his demonstration. Passing the unloaded rifles to the two Goblins, the man let his work speak for him. Accepting the guns in their slightly modified right hands, the machines' first collective instinct was to hit the mag release, checking the mag's currently loaded ammo before popping it back in.

"I'd have to take them down to a firing range to show them actually operating it, but here's the really cool thing:" The man said with a smile, signaling for the 6 Vex-Frames to stand side-by-side. Holding up a picture of the Speaker, he asked for them to identify it. "Frames, identify the target."

"Target identity: Speaker. Action directive: Protect at all costs." The Vex-Frames said in unison, showing that they fully registered the Speaker as a friendly HVT.

"Good, identify the individuals in front of you."

"Targets identified: Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6, Titan Vanguard Commander Zavala, Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey. Action directive: Protect all three at all costs."

"As you can see, their speech is still a little rigid since they're not even a week old. With some time they'll loosen up and be more approachable like some of the other Frames." The man explained with a meek smile, hoping he was making a good impression.

"I think I've seen all I need to see, we appreciate the demonstration. We'll contact you once we've made a decision." Commander Zavala thanked, dismissing the engineer.

"B-but uh…..you like it, right?" The engineer blubbered, his nervousness shining through like a strobe light now.

"It's risky and a bit crazy, but once we talk to the Speaker about it, we'll decide if the risk is worth it." Cayde explained, effectively doing the same thing Zavala did. Head hanging slightly forward in disappointment, the man signaled for his Vex-Frames to follow as he left. Making it just out of the room, he was quickly confronted by a woman whom Alvara was quite surprised to see.

"I'd like my rifle back, especially since it seems like your demonstration's over." The woman, a 5'6" tall Awoken Titan, lightly demanded with her arms crossed as she glared at the engineer.

"Alright, alright, here. Take it." The man conceded, signaling for one of the Goblins to let go of their Suros Regime rifle before passing it over to her. Putting it on her back, the woman turned and left, Alvara's odd expression catching Caldwell's attention.

"Who was that? Someone you know?" Caldwell inquired, finding Alvara's behavior quite odd.

"It's my older sister Sivala. She's in a different fireteam with my younger sister and an Exo friend of theirs, I wasn't expecting to run into her up here." Alvara explained, Caldwell starting to see the similarities. They both had the same hairstyle, with long hair on one side while it was pulled back on the other, only difference being Sivala's hair and facial marks were purple instead of orange or red, her eyes glowing green unlike Alvara's orange. Deciding it was a topic for later, Caldwell gestured for them to keep going.

"Ah, Caldwell. Who is this?" Ikora asked as they approached, gesturing to Eris.

"This," Caldwell introduced, standing just behind Eris and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Is Eris, one of the Guardians that went on that attack against Crota. Turns out, she was the only one who lived."

"I remember that…..we thought you were dead." Zavala noted, finding it unfortunate that none of his Titans that had committed to the assault survived.

"Regardless, why are you here? And…..what exactly happened to you?" Ikora wondered, noting Eris' three glowing eyes.

"Crota, he took my Light. My Ghost, my allies, he took _everything from me_. I came here to assure to you all in person that I want nothing more than to see Crota's end, and the complete halting of the Hive's efforts to take Earth." Eris explained, the strain in her voice when she explained what Crota had done showing that there was a great deal of emotional investment in this goal.

"Do you have any proof to show that the Hive are actively trying to attack Earth? Because if not, it'll be _very_ difficult for us to take your word for it." Zavala pointed out, sounding like he wanted to be on her side, but needed a bit more proof to do so.

"Their Ghosts captured quite a bit of data to show how militaristically active the Hive are. We haven't attacked the Moon since that failed assault on Crota, for them to be behaving like this shows they've got plans of their own." Eris asserted, her argument sounding painfully weak. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten just how rigid the Vanguard had to be as part of the job description despite loose cannons like Cayde being part of it.

"Well, get that data to us and we'll see if we can trust what you're saying. Until then, you can stay in the Tower, but we don't have much to discuss." Zavala explained, effectively dismissing Eris. Oddly enough, this seemed to elicit a slightly disappointed expression from Ikora, which she quickly hid. "Speaking of Ghosts: Caldwell, we have small task for your Fireteam to look into. A small mining town outside the City that's stayed standing despite repeated attacks by the Fallen and Vex. We sent some Guardians out there to protect the town, but we haven't heard from them. If you could, go check it out. The coordinates have already been sent to your Ghost."

With a silent nod, Caldwell turned and left, Alvara not far behind.

_Later, at a decrepit mining town in Warsaw, Poland…_

Their jumpships speeding by with a loud screaming noise, all five of them trans-matted their occupants out, the five Guardians landing gently at the edge of the town.

"Looks empty, you think they're all dead?" Merikh wondered, not having high hopes. And as if to completely skew his question, a gunshot rang out, narrowly missing his head.

"Damn Fallen, stay the _hell out!_" A man in a guard tower with an ancient, creaky Winchester rifle yelled, mistaking the Guardians for Fallen.

"Hey, _asshole!_ We're humans, not Fallen, so knock it the _fuck off!_" Merikh yelled back, ignoring the fact that three of them were technically not human. Screaming at the borderline hillbilly who almost splattered your grey-matter all over the floor _wasn't_ exactly the time to account for technicalities, after all. Evidently getting the memo, he meekly went back inside his guard tower. "Great, not thirty seconds into being here and something tries to _kill us_. Lets just hope the other occupants have better social skills. And probably better teeth."

Continuing to walk into the town, they quickly found an unpleasant sight in the form of a kneeling Titan next to a dying Hunter. Rushing over, there wasn't much they could do since none of them knew anything in the way of medical skills. The Titan was wearing a nearly complete set of Holdfast armor, the only missing element being the helmet, which was gone entirely to reveal he was an Exo. The armor being painted black and red to match his head, he was knelt down beside his ally, slumped against the wall.

"Any of you know how to treat a deep wound?" The Titan asked, not even having to look to know that more Guardians had arrived. Sure enough, the Hunter, who was wearing a torn hood and cloak with a small radio box on the left shoulder, was on her last legs as indicated by the deep stomach wound she was coping with. Not wanting to make a comment, Merikh was still admittedly jealous of the ATS/8 Arachnid helmet she possessed.

"Zulu, there's no point. My Ghost's smashed, I'm dead anyway." The woman chuckled, violently coughing a few seconds later. "It would honestly be better if you just put me out of my misery now." Closing his eyes, the Titan, evidently named Zulu, let out a deep sigh before nodding his head. Deciding to be the good samaritan, Merikh made an offer.

"Would it help if I did it? That way you don't have to watch." Merikh offered, drawing a Silvered Maverick Mk.41 Hand Cannon.

"Yeah, that would be better. I'll be waiting just over there." Zulu pointed to an area across the dirt street, getting up and walking away. Not wanting to form an emotional connection from looking into the Hunter's dying eyes, Merikh looked away as he threw the Hunter's hood back, pulled her helmet off, and pressed his Hand Cannon against her forehead, the one gunshot it let off sounding even louder than usual. Huffing a deep sigh, Merikh threw the Hunter's hood back up and pulled it tight to try and hide her eyes. If he knew her any better he'd probably take her hood in commemoration, but it would probably be better to wait and see what Zulu does. Going over to where Zulu was standing around, Caldwell decided to make the first move.

"I'm sorry about your loss, the Vanguard sent us out here to see what happened. Where's your third Fireteam member?" Caldwell inquired, taking off his helmet and holding it under his arm to try and be a little bit more relatable.

"Over there, I'm the only one left now." Zulu pointed, directing them to the metal spike protruding from the ground with a dirt-smudged, chipped, somewhat damaged Warlock helmet hanging on the end. The mood getting dark, Caldwell tried to think of a way to relate to Zulu on the matter.

"Well, would it help if we requested for some backup? Got you a new Fireteam?" Caldwell suggested, running out of ideas. Taking a more distinct look around, there weren't many signs of Fallen damage, but Vex markings were everywhere. Singe marks from Line Rifle shots, dead Vex shells strung up like scarecrows from the sides of buildings and off of awnings, and a massive number of severed Vex heads placed around like door ornaments. The majority of the door ornaments were Minotaur heads, but plenty of Goblin heads were laying around as cap pieces for various architecture as well.

"Those two were my team from the day I was resurrected, getting replacements just wouldn't be the same. I've held down this fort for 8 months, I'll continue to do so in their name until I die too. I promise I'll be more sociable in a few days, it's just now…my Warlock friend died not even a week ago, it's only recently that the Vex have started pushing so hard. The Fallen tried, failed, and gave up. Probably didn't think it was worth the losses in manpower, but the Vex just keep throwing themselves at us like moths to a flame. There's something about Poland that they want, and they won't stop until they have it. Of course, they'll need to take me down before that happens." Zulu explained, grabbing his LMG. It was dark blue and steel in color, with some aftermarket wiring attached to the left side that caused the entire thing to crackle with electricity. Along the side of the barrel was the word Thunderlord, which seemed to be engraved in with a knife or other sharp object.

"What could the Vex _possibly_ want with this _exact_ spot? There's plenty of land you guys aren't defending for miles in every direction." Merikh pointed out, slightly confused.

"Take a look around, what do you see around the town that's different from in here?" Zulu questioned, hoping Merikh got the answer.

"Well, there's a bunch of massive rocks, hills, and all sorts of other screwy terrain from our ancestors going a little crazy with the terraforming, but the land we're standing on only has a few small rocks and medium-ish rocks to account for. Why?" Merikh wondered, not quite getting it.

"The Vex like a lot of hard angles. Squares, rectangles, pointed edges and flat surfaces. The land we're currently sitting on would be easier for them to make a base from, and then once they do, they'll have a better flow of resources to carve into the hills and rocks around us. They're targeting the town because anything they put up outside would get torn down too easily by us since they've got to trek at least 40 miles from the nearest gate system to here. They still have to sleep on account of their MindCores being biological, and Minotaurs can only carry so much so fast. Taking this town is the solve-all end-all for their problems, and that's why we haven't just moved out. Because the longer we're here, the longer we keep them from spreading like a cancer across all of Poland." Zulu clarified, making sure his Thunderlord was loaded and ready. Hearing an alarm go off, the entirety of Komodo snapped to attention and started looking around for hostiles, while Zulu just hefted up his LMG like it was the start of a Monday. "It's probably another construction squad, follow me."

Complying, the entire Fireteam followed Zulu to the edge of the town, the lack of a defensive wall meaning they had to take cover behind a small barricade. In total, their defenses amounted to a few guard towers, some LMGs mounted into turret frames with blast shields, and some roadblocks with additional metal plates welded onto them. If it weren't for Zulu and his two deceased Fireteam allies, this town would've gone under long ago. Merikh sighting in with his Candace-B sniper, what he saw was extremely confusing in the form of two unknown units. One resembled a Minotaur from the Aphix Invasive despite the rest of the Vex being Hezen Corrective, only it had a small forearm shield on the left forearm, as well as a slightly different back. Its lower back had a small, box-like attachment affixed to it, which was connected to a trio of black and white cables running into its right armpit. From there, the cables could be seen running through the middle of its arm, all the way down into each of its fingers. Aside from all that, the only other big difference was that it had thick, blocky, almost hoof-like feet, which looked like they could cave in a metal door without the slightest bit of trouble.

"The hell is _that_ thing?" Merikh asked, figuring Zulu would know.

"It's called a Manticore, they're part defensive support unit, part construction crew. See that gun it's holding?" Zulu explained, directing Merikh's eyes to the quad-barreled, long, stockless weapon it held. Unlike weapons such as the Slap Rifle that had a whole frame practically interlinked into the forearm, this gun simply had a pistol grip-shaped handle, as well as a grip-like cover about halfway up the gun. "See that gun? My Warlock buddy almost loved the Vex in a way. Studied them, cut open the bodies of dead Vex, analyzed their weapons, all sorts of things. Thanks to him, I can tell you that gun is technically supposed to be the Vex equivalent of a nailgun. It fires highly concentrated, high-energy bursts of Vex netcode. Much like how you nail in something to keep it in place, he theorized that they use those things to cap off constructed Vex systems, turns out they realized it's pretty good at killing people as a shotgun to boot."

"Well, what do you have to say about the _other_ thing?" Alvara wondered, pointing the very oddly-shaped Vex not far behind it. It was comprised of a body like the top piece of a Hydra, only more elongated and more rectangular than round. It had four long, heavily armored legs that dug into the ground with every step like a shovel. Mounted along the middle of its back was a pair sized-up Line Rifle barrels, and near the back of its central body was a trio of diagonally upward-pointing guns that dripped and spat quickly dissipating purple energy, indicating that they were probably some kind of Torch Hammer Mortar Cannons. What was strangest though, was probably the three optics placed in a triangle shape instead of just one like on a Hydra.

"_That _thing's called a Cerberus, it's like a walking armor platform. Worst part is that's not even the assault kind, that particular one's for land clearing. Look at its underside." Zulu pointed out, drawing their attention to the series of small arms and manipulators poking out from underneath the Cerberus' body, which collected small rocks and other debris, only for them to disappear inside it. "The Vex like for their structures to have as flat of a starting ground as possible. Cerberus units like that one are meant for cleaning the land of small debris bits first, and killing us second."

"That armor doesn't look thin, how do you guys usually kill them?" Merikh asked, not too fond of how this was looking.

"Before she passed, my Hunter friend developed these bombs that are like a Tripmine Grenade, but they're a thin disk shape instead of a stick, so you can slide them. The underside of those things aren't armored whatsoever, so if you can slide one of those under it, it's as good as dead." Zulu explained, the gunfire finally starting as the Vex got close enough to notice their presence. A Manticore being the first to fire on them, the sound of its weapon resembled that of a sharp, punctual crack noise, akin to the sound of a sharp spike being ejected at high speed. In addition to that, the gun fired four bright red, almost glowing rods, one from each barrel. At the same time, the rods dissipating on impact in a small concussive blast showed they were no laughing matter. In total, the force consisted of four Manticores, 2 Cerberus, 6 Hobgoblins, 4 Minotaurs, and 20 Goblins. Caldwell, Carwyn, and Merikh running across the road to take cover somewhere else, Alvara decided to open up with a bang. Pulling out her Jester S/A3 Rocket Launcher, something rather unpleasant happened when she tried to fire it at a Manticore.

"Ah, what the _hell?!_" Alvara yelled in part discouragement, part confusion as the Manticore quickly passed its gun to grip in its left hand before punching the ground with its right hand. Locking in a kneeling position with its fist against the floor, the Manticore was saved from destruction as a barrier similar to that of a Hydra appeared, the only difference being it stayed in place instead of slowly rotating around the Manticore. Staying like that for a solid 6 seconds, the Manticore then rose back up and gripped its gun as normal, prioritizing Alvara now. Picking up into a sprint, the Manticore was startlingly fast as it closed the roughly 30-40 foot gap between them, vanishing at the last second…..

_Only to reappear shoulder-first as it rammed Alvara through a building's flimsy wall_

"Great….scary Vex unit can shoulder-charge." Alvara groaned, all her field experience and discipline unable to keep her from needing a moment to just lie there in the debris of the smashed wall. Back outside with Barrett, Zulu, and the Manticore, the two Titans quickly backed up as the Manticore whipped to face them, its hasty aim causing its gunfire to hit the ground just short of them instead of landing on-target. Wanting a fist-fight, the Manticore let its shields absorb the brunt of Zulu and Barrett's counter-assault as it fired one last blast, taking out a good 3/4's of Barrett's shields. Raising its left arm above its head, the Manticore tried to swing a downward backhand, only to miss as its target backed up. Immediately changing direction to run at the Manticore now, Barrett rammed the pointed end of his Necrochasm into the Manticore's chin, the burst of gunfire he let off turning its optic into techno-mulch. Still not dead, the Manticore swung a left uppercut into Barrett's stomach, sending him careening back and taking the Manticore's head with it. Left arm jammed at a weird angle with its fingers splayed out, the Manticore let out a spine-chilling, half-pained roar as it ran as fast as it could at them.

"_This_ is why I don't fight Vex very often!" Barrett yelled as he and Zulu turned and ran, the Manticore one-handing its gun as it fired haphazardly at them. Relying on its far less acute sensors placed around its body and the two spare optics in its shoulders, the Manticore tried to hunt down its prey, following them around a corner. Not knowing what to expect, the Manticore was caught off-guard as Zulu quickly stepped around the corner, swinging the back end of his Thunderlord right into its abdomen. Knocking the Manticore right off its feet, the machine continued to fire wildly as it kicked and roared in frustration, its pain only ending when Zulu opened fire on its exposed neck-circuits. Seeing the Cerberus units getting closer, Zulu decided it would be a good time to get those Tripmine Bombs. Meanwhile with Merikh, Caldwell, and Carwyn, things could be going better.

_Judging by the fact that half their cover got taken out by a Cerberus' Line Rifles, things could be going __**much **__better_

"Any reason why we've never heard of these things? Because you'd think a Vex that's carrying two mini-railguns on its back would be something to note." Merikh complained, popping up to blow a Hobgoblin in two.

"Maybe they're new, Zulu and his team haven't exactly had a steady line of communication back to the City, probably just something along the lines of 'Yeah, we're not dead yet.'" Caldwell retorted, getting oddly satirical compared to usual. Spotting two of the Minotaurs, Caldwell hurled his Nova Bomb, hoping to take out the Cerberus they were escorting. Unfortunately, all he did was knock it off-balance and get its attention despite vaporizing the Minotaurs. Turning to face them, the Cerberus unit's three Torch Hammer Mortars rose slightly, locking in place with a click before firing one after another in a repeat pattern, shelling their position. Having to move to avoid being obliterated, the three Guardians sought cover further inside the town as they were forced to give the Vex the front line. With only 2 Hobgoblins, 8 Goblins, 2 Minotaurs, and 3 Manticores left, the biggest problem was still the Cerberus units. One of them slowly stomping into the town, its life was quickly ended as a black disk could be seen sliding under it. The arms snatching it up like any other debris, the Cerberus was helpless as that telltale beep of a set-off Tripmine could be heard, followed by a blast protruding through the top of its back. Bursting like a spear, the plume of fire shot a hole right through the top of the Cerberus, followed by another one blowing its optics right off the front of its body.

Letting off a screeching roar that made a Minotaur's war cry sound like a kitten, the Cerberus continued to have explosive holes burst open across its body, followed by an escalating noise that culminated in its entire body becoming enveloped in a bright glow. Going out with one last blast, the resounding wave of heat from the explosion felt like it had the intensity of the sun, blasting through the town and forcing all non-Vex to take cover. Peering up once the heat-wave had passed, all that was left was the tips of its feet and its fried optics. Despite the war still raging on, everything felt silent for the three Guardians who witnessed it.

"Now that….._that_ was one hell of a death." Merikh commented, his voice showing that he'd be slack-jawed if you could see his face. Being reminded of the fight around him by more Torch Hammer fire slamming down, Caldwell decided regrouping would be a good idea.

"Let's get over there, we'll have a better chance of formulating a battle plan if we can get everyone's heads in on it." Caldwell suggested, Merikh deciding to go first. One of the Minotaurs moving to intercept him, Merikh's immature side stuck out as he pulled a Tripmine Grenade, sticking it right to the Minotaur's pelvic region before ducking and passing between the confused machine's legs. Letting out a confused whirring noise as it processed what just happened, things took a rather unpleasant turn as the grenade went off, completely blowing apart the Minotaur's pelvic region and the top half of its thighs. As if that wasn't insulting enough, the Minotaur's top half was sent careening a good 15 feet into the air, coming down head-first on a railing with a sickening clang. Having met the railing optic-first, the Minotaur's head was slightly knocked loose, the machine unable to do much more than sputter and claw at the ground in confusion. Not wanting to worry about it too much, Caldwell merely tossed an Axion Bolt to deal with the confused Minotaur as he too crossed the road. With Carwyn also crossing over, everyone was accounted for but Alvara.

"Where's Alvara?" Merikh wondered, finding her absence strange.

"A Manticore plowed her." Barrett answered, not thinking his short answer would be taken the wrong way. Judging by the silent stares from everyone but Zulu, it was evident he was wrong. "_Through a building._ Apparently those things can shoulder-charge when they teleport, one ran into her and sent her right through a wall. _Sick bastards_."

"Hey, I'm not the one who left their statement up for _interpretation!_ If you're going to say something like that, try _not _to put that imagery in my-" Merikh started to argue, being silenced by a smack to the back of the head from Caldwell.

"I promise, we're usually _not_ this dysfunctional." Caldwell assured, looking at Zulu.

"Well, speaking of Manticores, there's still 2 of them left, I saw one get incinerated in that Cerberus blast." Zulu pointed out, the telltale roaring indicating that one was right behind him. Turning to face it, the Manticore froze up as a flash of blue light could be seen behind it. Hearing the sharp sound of a knife quickly being withdrawn, the Manticore fell over to reveal Alvara standing there, the hole in the Manticore's back-mounted box explaining it all.

"I took out the last of the Hobgoblins and the Goblins, all we've got left is a Minotaur and that Cerberus." Alvara explained, strangely leaving the last Manticore out of that list. Figuring that maybe she took it out and didn't say, they focused their efforts on the Cerberus.

"Wait a minute….." Zulu stopped, the expression on his mechanical face saying something along the lines of _Oh crap, completely forgot about that…_

"What? What's the problem?" Carwyn prodded, mostly being so forceful because of the stakes of the current situation.

"We only made one Tripmine Bomb before you guys arrived, and I used it to destroy the other Cerberus." Zulu explained with a look of dread on his face, especially since none of them were going to dive under it and risk getting chopped up, incinerated, _whatever it was _that happened to the debris a Cerberus sucked up. Stopping to think, the whole group tried to ponder their own ideas when Alvara spoke up.

"Do you have any carbon nano-steel cable? The really strong stuff?" Alvara inquired, getting an idea.

"Yeah, plenty of it, why?" Zulu answered, wondering where this was going.

"Get it and make one end into a lasso loop, we're going to string this thing up like you guys did to those Vex corpses." Alvara explained, Zulu leading the way to a small shack. Opening the door, it didn't take long for Zulu to toss out a long line of a shiny, dark grey cable that was about as thin as someone's pinky finger. Conveniently enough, one end was already in a loop shape. "Alright, how easily could you, Barrett, Carwyn, and Caldwell get on a roof with this thing?"

"Pretty easily, there's a tall building the Cerberus hasn't passed yet that has a ladder in the back leading right up to the roof." Zulu informed, still not getting the idea.

"Take this and go up there. Throw it over the edge and wait for my signal. When I say now, start pulling as hard as you can." Alvara laid out with an unseen smile, getting a strong feeling this would work. Everyone running to their positions, Alvara waited in a low crouch as the Cerberus slowly stomped through town. Scanning for hostiles, it didn't see as the wire was thrown off the side of the building Zulu, Carwyn, Caldwell, and Barrett were on. Seeing the loop, Alvara dropped to a prone crawl, slowly inching out into the road and using her slow, gentle movements to avoid setting off any of the Cerberus' sensors. Grabbing the loop, she waited where she anticipated the Cerberus to step, placing the loop right in that spot. Taking the bait, the Cerberus unwittingly set its foot right inside the loop, Alvara yanking it up hard before yelling for the rooftop team to pull. Between having two Exos, and three of the Guardians being Titans, the Cerberus was helpless as the loop tightened significantly and its leg was yanked right up off the floor, hoisting the entire machine up the side of the building. Letting off a mechanical whooping noise in a sort of panic, the machine kicked its other legs as it tried to free itself, all to no avail.

"Ok Merikh, _now!_" Alvara yelled, running out from under the Cerberus to join her fellow Hunter at the other end of the road. With its underside exposed, the Cerberus helplessly dangled off the side of the building as the two Hunters laid into it with their heavy weapons. Having been given Zulu's Thunderlord for this, Merikh mercilessly fired the electrified rounds into its underside as Alvara steadied a rocket, the blast being the last thing the giant Vex ever felt. "Ok, drop the Cerberus and take cover!"

Alvara and Merikh diving inside a shop while the rooftop team hung off the backside of their building, all the Guardians braced themselves as the Cerberus blew apart, shattering much of the glass on the building it was hoisted from.

"Well, that was _fun_….." Merikh groaned, his back not quite too content with all the running, diving, and nearly-getting-incinerated-ing. Looking over, he realized he and Alvara had landed barely a foot apart, which quickly shut him into an awkward moment.

"Yeah, maybe next time we'll have more Tripmines." Alvara noted, blatantly getting up and dusting herself off. Whether she was intentionally ignoring the implications or was too oblivious to notice them, he wasn't sure. Deciding to do the same, both Hunters went outside to meet up with their fellow Guardians.

"I'd call that a job well done…..now, where's that last Manticore?" Barrett asked, finding its absence strange.

"And the Minotaur, wasn't there still one left?" Carwyn pointed out, only making things stranger. Hearing some commotion at the edge of town, all the Guardians turned to find both the Manticore and Minotaur had been diverted away, and were currently in multiple pieces as a large pack of Dregs in blue armor were savagely stabbing and clawing them apart.

"Leave 'em, the Fallen don't bother us anymore. They still pass by from time to time, but for some reason they've just given up on acknowledging our presence here." Zulu explained, his easy posture indicating they had nothing to worry about. Passing his LMG back, Merikh fell into the back of the group as Caldwell prepared to bid farewell.

"Well, we'll be heading back to the City now. If you ever need help or change your mind about having backup, just let us know." Caldwell said goodbye, Zulu showing his gratitude by locking his right hand together with Caldwell's as if they were going to have an arm-wrestling contest. Both Exos throwing their left arms over each other's backs, they each gave their fellow Exo a small pat on the back before turning and walking away, Caldwell calling for his Jumpship as his fellow Guardians did the same.

_Later that day, in the Tower, 7:55 PM…_

Things could be worse, but they could also be better. Since she couldn't be fully trusted to not be a maniacal traitor plotting the downfall of the city, Eris couldn't get her own room, be it in the Tower or otherwise, and her old one from before the incident with Crota had been sold to some Exo Interpretive Dancer.

_Exos can even dance? What's next? It's going to be rented out to Reef-dwellers passing through on vacation? _Eris satirically complained in her head, currently seated with her back against a railing by the Tower's edge with her legs out in front of her. With nothing to do, no money, and no friends on account of Komodo being out on a mission in Poland, she could only idly sit and listen to the bustle of the Tower. That is, until someone unexpected came by.

"Ikora Rey? What're you doing away from your post? Shouldn't you be watching over your Warlocks?" Eris questioned, admittedly somewhat bitter since the Vanguard blew her off so blatantly. Not too much against Ikora since most of it was done by Zavala, but still, she was agitated.

"Even we have time to ourselves, Hunter. What I'd like to know is why you're sitting out here against a railing with nothing to do." Ikora explained, strangely taking a seat next to the drained Hunter.

"I have no money, no home, and I'm technically not a Guardian anymore, so those privileges are gone too. None of the public bunking areas down in the City or any of the restaurants exactly have a 'has-been Guardian who nearly died at the hands of a Hive god' discount, so this is the best seat I can get. Combine that with rumors that I'm secretly a Hive informant plotting the downfall of the City, and not too many people will even look at me." Eris explained, still suspicious of why Ikora was here. The Warlock Vanguard didn't seem to have a gun on her, so the possibility of a compassionate execution was quite small.

"Unlike Zavala, I can tell you're telling the truth. We Warlocks, we have…a sense for people. We can tell if they're lying, if their intentions are good or bad, and loosely guess what their plans are. You could almost say I've gotten a sixth sense for predicting Cayde's pranks." Ikora chuckled, unusually sociable compared to how she was on-the-job.

"Where are you going with this? That you feel sorry for me? Want to apologize on Zavala's behalf?" Eris guessed, still somewhat stung. Thankfully, her opinion of Ikora was at least improving.

"Have you ever heard of The Hidden? It's a group of Guardians under my command that go out and gather information for me to make better-informed decisions with. What they can and can't do is completely within my jurisdiction, they're separate from the laws of the Vanguard itself. I was wondering if you'd like to join." Ikora offered, eliciting the first smile anybody's seen on Eris' face since she arrived.

"_That_…..I can do. Anything you wish to know about the Hive, I'll find it. After having learned to use the shadows as they do, you'll find no better asset to use against them." Eris accepted, her day getting a bit brighter.

"Good, now come. You look like you haven't eaten in a while, and neither have I. Call it my treat until you start earning your own glimmer under your new occupation." Ikora invited, doing quite well at making herself Eris' friend. Accepting the Warlock's offer, both women got up and left for the next shuttle out of the Tower, marking the beginning of what would become an immensely successful partnership.

Post-Chapter Note

And with that, the Vex have made their debut. I was actually struggling to try and find a good place to put Zulu's settlement, but I eventually took a location that's planned for one of my other stories, so I hope it worked out well. In addition to that, any feedback on the new Vex units would be highly appreciated. I kid you not, my thought process when I asked myself what would be a scary bipedal Vex was simply "A Minotaur with a Hek Shotgun from Warframe and a Hydra's shield" and I just filled in the blanks to make it what it is now (Such as explaining the gun's purpose). In addition to that, I tried to follow the naming trend shared with some of the other Vex units by pulling names from ancient mythological creatures, hence names like Manticore instead of something more generic.

In addition to that, something I forgot to bring up about the last chapter was that the idea to feature the Deathsinger and her scene in general was inspired by the song Our Truth by Lacuna Coil, especially the intro. If you listen to it, it should be quite easy to know what I'm talking about. Also, since I'm putting my biggest story on break until the Summer, taking it out of the loop temporarily means there'll probably be a decent amount of updates for this story in a shorter amount of time, which means you'll probably get to see Komodo's #6 join sooner than expected. Any ideas on who it might be? (I've already got it dead-set as to who it'll be, I just want to see if I was predictable about it)

Finally, the reason I specifically cited Exos as being a notable factor in trying to hoist up the Cerberus is that, in this story, Exos are going to be like the Terminator's little cousin so to speak: Resilient bodies and strength far surpassing that of a human. Maybe not quite to the ridiculous extreme that the T-800 has been seen surviving things, but still far more resilient than a human or Awoken.


	5. Factory Issues

Chapter 5: Factory Issues

_Midnight, East of the Cosmodrome, Old Russia….._

"So, did they at least congratulate us on a job well done when you turned in your report on Zulu?" Merikh asked, trudging over the thicker collections of snow that were present the further east you went of the Cosmodrome. There were still patches of dirt in plenty of places, it's just the snow seemed to get thicker wherever it _did _appear.

"Well it's never good to hear about Guardians dying, so their response was reserved at best, but they seemed thankful that the settlement was at least saved. I _certainly_ could've used the backup when breaking the bad part of the news to them though." Caldwell lightly chided, having given his report to the Vanguard alone.

"Hey, I was there, wasn't I?" Merikh defended, leaving out a very key detail.

"Yeah, in the Tower: Watching that Exo Flash Mob out in the courtyard instead of down in the Hall backing me up." Caldwell corrected, admittedly understanding his reasoning in a way. Not wanting to press the topic any further given their current objective, Caldwell instead gestured for Merikh to fall into a crouch as they crept up a hill, finding the rest of the team.

"I wasn't able to get too close, but there's been a near-constant barrage of what sounds like cannon fire just a little ways over the hills further in this direction. To me it sounds like Walkers, but the Fallen aren't known to just squander ammo on practice-shooting, so maybe we can catch them unaware in a fight." Alvara explained, having been warded off from going closer by the thought of getting ambushed while alone.

"Sounds like a plan. Barrett, you and Carwyn keep your fingers off the trigger until we're discovered. If that happens, go wild." Caldwell instructed, hoping that perhaps they could do this quietly. Everyone falling in line behind Alvara, the Fireteam followed her lead as they traversed the hills, mostly just watching the scenery for signs of Fallen. The locale was oddly clear of signs of Hive, both in terms of active presence and remains of a battle with them, indicating this must've been behind Fallen lines. Exactly _which _Fallen lines, however, was up for debate, as instead of Hive remains, the torn flags and electrical burn marks of Fallen weaponry were present in numerous places.

"Think we're right on the border of one House's territory with another? Because this looks like the aftermath of some kind of Fallen gang war." Carwyn noted, the two flag remains seen around belonging to the House of Devils and House of Kings. Carwyn knew the Devils were sadistic, but they were organized and pinpoint. If they were pushing on the Kings, then the Kings must've been doing something to incite them.

"Either that or we're deep in one House's territory, and the other is trying to sneak in and sabotage things. The Fallen are too smart to take a Cabal approach and just endlessly throw themselves at a problem. They're more likely to go around, under, or above it." Merikh pointed out, seeing much more King property around than Devils.

"True. Sometimes I forget the Fallen are as nimble as they are." Carwyn admitted, still wishing they'd find a human-friendly House at some point. He'd heard rumors of them existing, but rumors don't guarantee a Wire Rifle won't pierce your brain if you find the House in question. Hearing the gunfire get louder and louder, it was oddly uniform, a series of what sounded like 10 main guns firing in sync instead of haphazardly firing away as soon as they could. In addition to that, there was also what sounded like cracks of thunder, yet no lightning was present in the sky. Sliding down the hill they were on and climbing up another, most of the fireteam quickly pulled back down the hill.

"Looks like we found our Fallen. I'll check it out." Merikh offered, pulling out his sniper rifle. Laying down and crawling back up to be on top of the hill, Merikh scoped in and surveyed his surroundings. Further away in front of him, lined up side-by-side along a steep ridge, was the ominous sight of 10 Fallen Walkers, all with yellow-painted front-ends and the House of Kings symbol emblazoned on every leg. The one right in the middle was slightly different, with the House of Kings flag affixed on either side of the turret. Standing just beside it was an intimidatingly tall Fallen that didn't exactly resemble a Captain.

Standing at roughly 9 feet tall, this Fallen had relatively Captain-like armor with a yellow cape marked with the Kings insignia, the main differences being their chestplate possessed tube-like ridges crossing over it, as well as arm-guards each with three curved spikes on the back. To boot, the Fallen also had another piece of yellow cloth affixed to their belt-line, this one curving around the sides and the back while leaving the front exposed. Going down to the knees, it wasn't incredibly obvious if it had function or was just a show of authority.

"Wait, I recognize that one. The big Fallen is Rainera, a Kings Baroness." Merikh's Ghost spoke up, having been watching through Merikh's scope.

"Baron_ess_?" Merikh asked in confusion, putting emphasis on the ess part.

"Correct. She's the one who led the first attacks by Fallen on the Cosmodrome, back when we thought the Wall would help us hold out against the Fallen. Her tanks came around the other side and hit us from behind, then years later the Devils moved in. Her title's Baroness, but as far as any Guardian's seen, she's more like a tank commander of sorts." Merikh's Ghost elaborated, the claim being backed up by what Rainera was doing. Holding a Shock Blade in her upper right hand, this was mostly for show as she raised it high, would say the same two words in Fallen language, then say a third word and bring the sword down, at which point all 10 King Walkers would fire. If he had to guess, Merikh assumed it was probably Fallen for _'Ready, Aim, Fire!'_.

"_Just_ when we assume the Fallen were getting barbaric, we see something like this." Merikh chuckled, finding that it demonstrated just how organized the Fallen still were. Looking around at the entrenched Fallen, Merikh then found the source of the thunderous noises. Laying down at the edge of the ridge were Vandals, about 10 in number, utilizing what looked like a Wire Rifle with a long, square barrel, a large energy core jutting out the side just above the trigger, and a pointed bipod along the barrel used to lodge itself into surfaces like a stake. Judging by the thunderous boom each shot made, coupled with a flash of blue that was seizure-worthy, and the noticeable gust of particles forced into the air with each shot, it must've been like a Fallen anti-materiel rifle. Wondering what they were shooting at, Merikh moved his scope to the right, finding his answer. "_God…..dammit._"

Curious as to what he was groaning about, Alvara pulled out the sniper she kept on-hand, scoping in and aiming where she estimated Merikh was looking. As it turns out, Merikh's _oh-so-hated_ enemy the Hive were here, having punched a large hole in the ground about a mile out. Almost looking like a cave that fell into the ground, the large hole was plagued by a near-constant outpouring of Hive, everything from Thralls to Cavaliers, Acolytes and Marauders, and even Ogres. The Fallen relentlessly firing on them, the Hive charged forward, uncaring of the constant cannon barrages and sniper rounds taking them down in droves. Whatever it was the Kings did or stole, the Hive wanted them gone desperately. Zooming in further, Alvara could almost feel Merikh's heart wanting to just crawl into a corner and die as yet another unidentified Hive unit crawled out of the cave, bearing no even slight resemblance to anything they've seen.

"This is just…_this _is why I hate the Hive!" Merikh griped, not taking his scope off the massive beast that had crawled out. Moving on four legs with a long body, the unidentified creature seemed to possess biological armor in the form of chitinous, grey armor plating over its head, back, and the front of its limbs. It had a semi-elongated head with a neck attached directly to the back of the skull, almost giving it a dragon-like appearance. Its eyes were soulless green dots, and the burning green fire of the Hive could be seen flaring up within its semi-exposed jaws and chest. Along its back was a row of straight-pointing green crystals, which ran all the way down the center from the base of the neck to the tip of its skeletal tail. By their estimates, the monster appeared to be a good 60 feet long and about 12 feet tall, most likely some kind of siege beast formed in the Summoning Pits.

"I hate to be the one to point out irony since we're the first to see this thing, but anybody else find it funny that it looks like a Hive crossed with a komodo dragon?" Alvara chuckled, mostly at Merikh's expense. Wanting to just move on, Merikh was thankfully humored as Caldwell spotted an abandoned factory building off to the left, well behind the Walker firing line. Taking their time creeping over to it, things escalated oddly quickly soon after making it there. Stepping inside, the building was quite obviously occupied by the Kings, as their flags were draped from the ceiling, over railings, just about any conceivable place to hang them. Much like any other place in Old Russia, the scenery was a brown, rusted metal, though strangely there were signs of infusion with Fallen architecture. Where there should be a split, rusty pipe, there was instead a rusty pipe with the telltale curved metal of Fallen-designed objects in the middle, almost like a brace to keep both pieces held together. In addition, some chunks of Fallen architecture seemed built into the walls, almost like the Kings had refurbished the factory. Seeing a way up to the second floor, the sound of Shock Grenades going off nearby prompted them to hurry.

"Think it's another Hive incursion?" Barrett wondered, regretfully still going to listen to Caldwell's orders about when to fire. Reaching the top, that was oddly not the case as they looked through a row of windows, seeing Devils and Kings exchanging fire. The Kings had the advantage of a second-floor balcony with Shock Rifles, but even still the Devils were standing strong. With Dregs making up the primary force on the King side, these were also the most visceral combatants, actively trying to pursue and encroach on their enemies.

"I say we let one side win, then congratulate the victors with our own guns. Anyone agree?" Merikh suggested, content to just watch the Fallen tear each other apart. With everyone in agreement, the fireteam waited and watched the action.

Down below, the Devils started to get pushier and pushier, one particular Dreg armed with the typical Shock Pistol and Dagger flanking around the far right. Striving to earn his lower arms again, the Dreg moved in on a far more cautious King Dreg hiding behind a massive stack of boxed-up parts, catching the fellow outcast unaware. Embedding his dagger in the King Dreg's shoulder, the Devil Dreg got some surprise retaliation in the form of the King Dreg yanking one of the top-most boxes off the stack, hitting the Devil Dreg in the head. Losing the grip on his dagger, the Devil Dreg stepped back clutching his head, only to be tackled to the floor by the King Dreg. Hissing in his opponent's face, the King Dreg was promptly forced off by his opponent, who got up and ran towards the wall.

Seemingly acting stupid, the Devil Dreg then proved it was the King Dreg who was foolish for following as he leapt at the wall, kicked up the wall, kicked off the wall, and turned to grab hold of a pipe running under the catwalk above him. Still in the air, the Devil Dreg grabbed the pipe with momentum, swinging his legs straight forward to kick the King Dreg right in-between the eyes. Landing on the floor again, the Devil Dreg drew his pistol again, eliminating the King Dreg before the latter could get back up. While a blade kill would've been worth more, the Devil Dreg just didn't want to die in the end. Speaking of dying Fallen, at the other end of the large storage room, a Devil Vandal was at risk of just that.

Having attracted the attention of a King Captain, the Devil Vandal was swiftly in a backpedal, his Shock Rifle not doing too much to deter his assailant. The King Captain being armed with dual Shock Swords, he was unexpectedly cut off by an equally-armed Devil Captain, who stepped in to defend one of his own. With both Captains armed with blades, it was down to a show of skill as the Devil Captain slashed high, only to be blocked with the King Captain's blades. Having only used his right one, the Devil Captain tried to make a low blow by slashing at the King Captain's stomach with his left blade, to which the King Captain backed up in time. Going right on the offensive, the King Captain leapt forward with a dual-overhead slash, which got blocked.

Locking blades, the two Captains got in each other's faces, their attempts to subdue one another with their lower arms also being met in stalemate. The King Captain being slightly stronger, things started to tip in his favor as the Devil Captain was forced back. Feeling confident, the House of Kings' natural ego and hubris got the better of this Captain as he failed to notice a Captain-sized Fallen from the House of Devils blindside him. Oddly, despite his Captain-like stature, this Fallen had only two arms.

"Look at _that _big guy, almost looks like a Dreg-ified Captain." Merikh commented, pointing to the strange Fallen. He had a helmet like an Archon, but instead of large upward-pointing horn protrusions on either side, those were gone. Instead, the helmet was just the actual helmet piece itself, the back and sides of which were covered with a tattered cloth hood. Lacking a cape, this Fallen instead had two thin cloth strips with the Devil logo on them, one hanging off the back of each shoulder. His lower arms were missing and capped off like those of a Dreg, and his upper arms were completely wrapped in bandages with the Captain's typical arm-armor layered over it. Hanging off either side of the Fallen's hips were two more cloth strips with the Devil logo, and the Fallen's pants seemed to be strapped up with more armor plating on the front.

"Interesting…..judging by my record of decoded Fallen comms, if I'm matching the description right, that Fallen's called a Thug. Much like how when a Vandal irreparably fails they become a Dreg, when a Captain fails, they become a Thug. Slightly better treated, but still far from respect or admiration." Carwyn's Ghost analyzed, usually being one of the last to ever speak up and say something. With a Shrapnel Launcher on his back, the Thug had a much more unexpected weapon in store for the King Captain. Mounted to his left hip was a long sheath, almost like that for a sword, which contained a seemingly modified Shock Blade. Whereas the Shock Blade resembled a cutlass, this elongated sword looked more like an electrically-charged odachi.

Drawing the sword, the Devil Thug caused his opponent to begin backing up, wanting the Captain to make the first move. Obliging, this was actually a bad move on the Captain's part as the Devil Thug raised his sword for a two-handed overhead swing, bringing it down onto the Captain's crossed blades. Striking with enough force to make the latter fall to a kneeling position, the scales were already tipping. Taking advantage of the Thug moving his sword away, the Captain tried to rise and attack, only to get kicked in the chest by the Thug. Going right off his feet, the Captain scrambled back up immediately after hitting the ground, ducking as the Thug slashed a stack of boxes clean through with a diagonal-downward swipe.

Moving his sword back along the trajectory he just used, the Thug succeeded in slashing one of the decorative pieces affixed to the Captain's helmet off, throwing his target off-kilter. Deflecting a straight stab from the Thug with his blades, the King Captain tried to run the Thug through the stomach, only for the Thug to get just out of the way. Letting his left hand off the hilt of his weapon, the Thug lunged forward to grab the Captain by his collar, followed up by slamming the bottom of his weapon's hilt against the Captain's forehead. Dazing the pretentious Captain, the Thug wasted no time in running the Captain through, not ashamed of his dirty tricks as the Captain went limp.

"Is it just me, or do the Kings kinda…suck?" Merikh asked, putting it bluntly. By what he could tell, the Kings were all fiery morale and hatred, and no real bite. The Devils were more precise, more disciplined, watched their fellow members better, and overall reminded him of why it was the Devils and not the Kings that wasted London. It's honestly a wonder how Rainera is so well-known if _this _is the House she was born into.

"Yeah…..I'd say enough Kings have died, lets introduce ourselves." Alvara pitched, prompting Caldwell to lead the way. Taking a door to their right, the Guardians ended up right behind the height-advantaged King Vandals, Alvara stabbing one in the back of the neck while Barrett passed her, swiftly throwing his shotgun over the back of the second Vandal's head. With something to pull on, Barrett yanked the Vandal's head forward into a rising knee, either killing or severely incapacitating him. With still one more, this was covered by Caldwell, who grazed behind Barrett just as he'd done with Alvara, blowing the last Vandal against the wall with a condensed blast of energy from his free hand. With the high-up Fallen eliminated, this left them with the high-ground, which Carwyn was quick to forego.

Mantling over the railing, Carwyn touched down with a crash despite landing on his feet, the weight of his armor being all it took. With most of the Kings thinned out, it was largely a duel between Komodo and the Devils with just some Kings mixed in-between. Not faltering despite their massive disadvantage, one of the remaining King Dregs tried to tackle Carwyn, getting an uppercut to the chin from his target. Feet flying out from under him as Carwyn passed by, the Dreg was picked off by Merikh, who decided to stay up top with Caldwell while Barrett and Alvara went down. Offering a bit more support, Merikh hurled one of his knives to bring Carwyn's attention to the last King Captain, the knife clanking off the top of the latter's helmet. Obviously irate, the Captain decided to take his frustration out on Carwyn, oddly running behind another stack of boxes despite carrying a Shrapnel Launcher. Deceptively nimble despite his size, the Captain came around the far side of the box with speed one would only expect from a Dreg as he fired on Carwyn.

Taking cover in response, Carwyn popped out to fire more bursts from his Pulse Rifle as a distraction, keeping the Captain's attention while Alvara got him from behind. Sneaking up, the usually-graceful Hunter was comedically not so graceful for once as she leapt at the Captain's back with knife in hand, the Captain's instinctual thrashing screwing up her momentum. What was supposed to be a clean neck stab resulted in her going up and over the Captain, only to regain her grip on his front-side, staring the 6'3" Fallen in the face. Not amused, the Captain held Alvara still with his lower arms before slamming his knee into her stomach, knocking the Awoken right on her back. Despite looking like a bad hit, Alvara was quick to flop onto her front and reach out for the Captain's ankle, stabbing it with her knife to pull him down. Having stabbed just below his shin plating, the Captain went down just as hard as Alvara had, only with a guttural yell. Alvara climbing on top of the Captain, what Carwyn saw next was rather off-putting as instead of just one stab, Alvara delivered numerous, and seemed to have a hard time stopping.

Going once, twice, three times, and onwards onto 7 stabs right in the same region at the base of the Captain's neck, Carwyn could almost hear the sound of Alvara saying something, though whether it was intelligible language or just pained, furious grunts was hard to tell. Finally stopping at 11 stabs, Alvara rolled off of the thoroughly dead Captain and onto one knee, where she seemed to have some trouble getting up. About to go and help, Carwyn was admittedly intimidated from making Alvara think he doubted her as a Guardian when she wiped her blade between two fingers, put it away, and forced herself to stand up. Still wary of the Hunter, Carwyn let it go nonetheless as she seemed to at least get by, re-drawing her Auto Rifle and semi-running to cover. With the last of the Kings removed from the situation, the Devils were oddly pulling back, sounding like they got a directive to do so more than being intimidated.

"Wh-….hey! We're still here!" Merikh yelled at the departing Fallen, completely bewildered. Deciding to flip his card again, it came to a foreboding landing on the Joker side, getting Merikh more uneasy than confident.

"Judging by Fallen comms, I'd say the Devils are falling back for some reason. It sounds like this was only a scouting party." Alvara's Ghost pointed out, not even physically appearing to do so.

"What kind of a scouting party comes in guns blazing inside a factory? And speaking of factories, the hell is all this?" Barrett brought up, gesturing to the peculiar Fallen/human hybrid architecture and the neatly stacked boxes. Each stack was a collection of about 12 short, rectangular brown boxes laid in a square pattern and stacked a good 25-30 boxes high. Layered over the individual stacks was some strange, semitransparent material that most would describe as looking like industrial-grade shrink-wrap. Tearing some of it and pulling a box out of its stack, Barrett ripped open the end of the box and dumped out its contents on the floor, adding to the mystery.

"These look like…..human parts. Bits from a tank, maybe a car, I think I even see some old motherboards in here. Why are the Fallen boxing up human scrap?" Caldwell's Ghost analyzed, vastly confused by this revelation.

"Oh wait, it seems like it gets better." Alvara said with a semi-dramatic overtone, grabbing something from an opened box in a different stack. Clutching it in her free hand, she held it out for Caldwell's Ghost to look at.

"How…..? This is a _Cabal _part! Looks like a half-dry magazine from one of their Slug Rifles. More specifically one of the smaller ones Psions are issued. The Cabal aren't in Old Russia…..are they?" Caldwell's Ghost asked, flying over to look at the box Alvara pulled the cylindrical mag from. Scanning it, he found even more Cabal junk, ranging from banged-up optics pulled out of a Legionary's helmet to the half-burnt remains of the neural augs a Psion uses to amplify their powers.

"Regardless of if they are or they aren't, they seem to have refurbished this factory and are stealing junk from other species. While that doesn't sound very odd for the Fallen, the fact that they've got it boxed up and organized with what look to be Fallen numbers on the sides of the boxes indicate this is more elaborate than usual." Caldwell settled, not liking where this was going. Of course, Merikh would argue there were quite a few things the Exo Warlock didn't like. He wasn't the cold badass type, he just always looked like he had something hanging over his head, and nobody could get an answer out of him about it. Much like Banshee, most just resorted to leaving the topic alone.

"The fact that the lights are on is another good tell. When's the last time we saw light fixtures going full-tilt on the illumination in _Old Russia_ of all places? Most of the buildings here are either darker than Crota's soul or the lights are flickering on the last bit of light they've got in them." Merikh reminded, everyone agreeing that the miraculously well-lit room was a bit strange.

"Well, lets go further in. The Kings are probably distraught with the Devils and Hive attacking, so we've got a good shot at seeing what this place is hiding." Caldwell suggested, getting silent nods to signal they had a plan. Turning to look around, the only real way further in seemed to be through a door under the catwalk they were on, leaving the matter of deciding where to go somewhat pointless. Taking the doorway, Caldwell led with both Titans close behind as a fallback in the event of a surprise attacker. Going through a tight hallway with more Fallen bits mixed into the walls, the occasional patches of numerous small, dot-like lights were giving off the false feeling that they were walking into a wholly Fallen-made structure. Coming out the other side, they were in the real meat of the factory, which wasn't making things any better.

"Dayum…this is a fucking _factory line!_" Barrett exclaimed, seeing Walker barrels going by on automated crane lines up high, Walker bodies waiting on stands to be assembled, and even tall racks of inactive Shanks that had not a single scratch on them yet. To the far left they could hear the sound of searing metal, which caught everyone's attention. Signaling for everyone to follow, Caldwell led the way to this strange left-side room, waiting until everyone was grouped up to peek in. When he did, it answered a lot of questions.

"Well…..now we know what the scrap's for." Caldwell noted, Merikh moving to the other side of the door opening to peek in as well. What he saw was a multi-floor room loaded with rickety conveyor lines, passing by large smelting vats manned by understandably irate Dregs. Judging by the contents of each conveyor it seemed to be divided up by material, especially since once it was done, the liquid metals were poured into separate heat-resistant bins and swiftly slid into giant freezers. In the back were more Dregs, though instead of manning smelters, they were seated by their conveyor lines mindlessly picking apart small electronics like motherboards or salvaged phones, no doubt planning to use the parts for their Shanks and Walker AI systems. Standing guard in the middle was a single Captain, silently watching to make sure no Dregs slacked or stole something.

Drawing his sniper, Merikh scoped in on the Captain to announce their presence, the round depleting the watchful Fallen's shields and nearly bowling him over. Switching to a Hand Cannon, Merikh decided it would be easier to use than a Scout Rifle, and more fun than staying back with a Sniper Rifle. The entire Fireteam flooding in, Alvara was the first up there, scaling a stack of boxes like it might as well have been a real staircase. A Dreg hissing at her, the Dreg tried to climb over his conveyor line and attack her, successfully tackling the Hunter. Only getting that far because Alvara's footing was still off from the gut-blow from earlier, the Dreg was quickly forced off to the side, only to be killed by Caldwell in what Hunters still debate should be called either a KS or a 'yoink'.

Having been armed with dual Shock Blades, the Captain shook off the blow to his shields and leapt for Barrett, clearing the conveyor line with swords raised high. Being a Titan, Barrett was able to withstand a slash or two from the Captain's blades, batting his left forearm to collide with one blade mid-swing and knock it back. About to go for an opening, Barrett had to duck as the Captain made a high horizontal swing, posing a threat of decapitation. With everyone else preoccupied by the crowd of Dregs coming on, Barrett had to handle this one solo, aiming right for the Captain's head with his shotgun. In an unexpected show of precision, the Captain made another horizontal swing, shaving the shotgun clean in half from where the shells were inserted all the way through the front of the gun. The top half meekly falling off, Barrett was left holding the pump of what was now only _half _of a shotgun. Dropping it to bend forward and wrap his arms around the Captain's abdomen, Barrett played to his strengths and pushed forward, running the Captain off his feet.

Not just stopping with a simple shove, Barrett effectively carried the Captain. Continuing to run until they collided with a conveyor line, both combatants went right over it as they separated. Having dropped his Shock Blades, the Captain displayed true Kings behavior by refusing to back down, trying to go for Barrett's throat with his upper right hand. Barrett catching the attempted grab, this did nothing but remind him of the disadvantage brought on by fighting someone with 4 hands. Retaliating to Barrett's wrist grab with a trio of gut punches using his lower hands, the Captain tried to continue pounding at Barrett as long as he could despite no obvious success. Grabbing Barrett's right wrist with his upper left hand, the Captain resorted to cheap tricks as he tried to headbutt the human Titan. Much to the Captain's bad fortune, Barrett mimicked the action, both combatants winding their heads back to strike each other. Barrett able to do so with far more force, as well as having a much more reinforced helmet, the Captain let go as he stumbled backwards in what looked like a drunken daze. Grabbing one of the Captain's Shock Blades, Barrett ran the Captain right through the stomach, figuring it was the least he could do after losing his shotgun.

Looking to what his teammates were doing, Barrett picked the perfect time to finish a fight as a Dreg trying to fight Merikh leapt for a knife strike at just the wrong time, doing so as Merikh was priming a grenade.

"Ah, _shi-_!" Merikh cut himself off, trying to stumble back as the Dreg leapt at him mid-swing. The live Incendiary Grenade going far off trajectory, it found its way into one of the excess scrap dump tubes, clattering and rolling down the tube and out of sight. Everyone in the room freezing, the Dregs because they knew what would happen and Komodo because the Dregs seemed scared, all went into a deathly silence before a flash of yellow erupted from the tube, followed by a far more potent explosion. Pushing his attacker away, Merikh popped the Dreg with a headshot. "Move! _Run!_ _**Do something!**_"

Everyone turning and running from the room, Barrett and Carwyn took the most comedic way down by merely diving over the edge of the raised platform, landing with two heavy crashes as they rolled to their feet. With everyone out, Carwyn and Barrett moved to slide the massive, metal doors leading into the room shut, much to the dismay of the Dregs that were still inside. Rushing to make it out, it was to no avail as the doors shut, the sounds of repeated explosions and rushing fire hinting at the Dregs' collective fate.

"I swear, I got my throw screwed up by a Dreg. _Not my fault._" Merikh assured, catching his breath after nearly becoming barbecue. Looking back at the central platform in the room, things had gone from bad, straight over worse and terrible, and right to atrocious. Hearing the sound of metal scraping on metal, the entire Fireteam turned to look at a small hole in the roof leading to a higher part of the facility. Out from it crawled down a massive, 13-foot tall Fallen with the largely chrome-tinted helmet of an Archon Priest. The rest of his body being covered head to toe in ribbed, metal armor with clawed feet and lower fingers, the appearance was capped off perfectly with a large Shrapnel Launcher and four large, curved wrist blades, two on each lower arm. Righting his posture from an upside-down crawl to a standing position as he swung off a roof-mounted pipe, the giant Fallen landed with a heavy crash in the middle of the room, backed up by two King Thugs that also crawled down. His vitals popping up, their HUDS also displayed a name, which translated soon after into '_Vurak, Kings BladePriest'_.

"Well, at least we found what the Devils were probably retreating from." Merikh's Ghost commented, having just as much of a knack for poorly-placed semi-satirical comments as his Guardian. Everyone raising their guns to open fire, the attack was actually more lethal to them as the rounds harmlessly bounced off, plenty of them actually coming back at Komodo. Moving to avoid their own gunfire, Komodo was given a bit of a break as the BladePriest seemed to order the Thugs off to the side, the sound of far-off gunfire indicating there were probably more Devils to deal with. Deciding they needed to use heavy firepower, the members of Komodo with rocket launchers pulled them out and attacked in sync from different angles, the rockets successfully impacting and detonating. Unfortunately, this only seemed to put a small chip in the BladePriest's vitals. Merikh drawing Light into his hand cannon, his three consecutive shots combined with Caldwell hurling a Nova Bomb only did slightly more damage. Mostly just jumbled around by the barrage, the large Fallen replied with a stomp of the foot, sending metal scrap in every direction and causing Komodo to scatter across the room.

Fleeing in every-which direction, the Fireteam tried to give the BladePriest as spread out of a set of targets as possible as they avoided his Shrapnel Launcher blasts. Going after Caldwell, the Exo Warlock had to move fast as the BladePriest leapt with frightening agility, clearing a good 7 feet as he tried to slash with his wrist blades. Making a followup slash, this did nothing but knock over a rack of inactive Shanks.

"Hey, I think I have an idea on how to beat this guy!" Alvara called out, having gotten a lightbulb moment from seeing the Shank rack get knocked over. "Barrett, how do Titans in the Crucible usually deal with each other?"

"A shotgun!" Barrett answered, having to raise his voice as he fled the BladePriest's long burst of Shrapnel Launcher fire.

"No, when they run out of ammo!" Alvara corrected, figuring she'd need to raise her voice so he could hear her.

"Their fists!" Barrett replied, sliding behind a rusty metal vat as he continued to hold the BladePriest's attention.

"Which is considered…?" Alvara asked, deciding the others needed to get it.

"Blunt trauma…._that's it! Blunt trauma! _We need to physically hit him!" Caldwell finished Alvara's thought, getting where she was going.

"Alright Mr. Hercules, one of you got a hammer the size of a Goliath Tank you want to hit him with? Because our fists and knives aren't going to work against Iron Man over here!" Merikh quipped, proving his seldom-admitted habit of frequently delving into old Earth media and history. Already having a plan, Caldwell instead decided to move over to Merikh's position, forcefully taking possession of the latter's sniper. Spotting one of the Walker Main Gun Barrels passing overhead, Caldwell smacked the side of a large metal crate as hard as he could, drawing the BladePriest's attention. Luring the large Fallen into the center, Caldwell took aim and sniped the thin bracket holding up the barrel, causing it to come careening down onto the BladePriest's head. Striking the top of the Fallen's head with an echoing clang, the BladePriest howled in pain, just as a fat chunk of his vital signs were depleted. Throwing back Merikh's sniper rifle, the plan was settled as Komodo looked around for various junk to hit the BladePriest with. Seeing something of interest, Carwyn drew his Fusion Rifle, aiming up at a collection of Walker legs that were clipped together by a bungie-like cable to both each other and the wall. Shooting the bracket, this caused the linked Walker legs to swing down, striking the BladePriest between the eyes as he turned to see where the sound came from. Feet flying out from under him, the BladePriest yelped as he flopped onto his back with a thunderous thud, at about 30% health now.

Signaling for Merikh to come over, Alvara climbed up the racks of legless Walker Bodies, trying to pop the top-most one free. With the top still connected to the crane-hand that moved it in, Alvara soon got Merikh scaling up the other side, the two Hunters trying to wrench the bolts out. Succeeding due to Fallen construction demanding any serious bolt removal be capable of being done by hand, Merikh and Alvara tried to push the body forward and out of its rack. Not quite budging, Merikh tried something admittedly dumber than any stunt he'd tried in his career as he readied an Incendiary Grenade. Holding it in his hand, he mentally counted down the timer until a second was left, tossing it at the back of the Walker Body to make the blast propel said hunk of metal along the crane track. Preoccupied trying to fire on Caldwell, the now-standing BladePriest was oblivious due to his head injuries as the Walker Body, Merikh and Alvara still hanging onto it out of sheer bad luck, went sliding along the track with it and right into him. Grazing it, the blow struck hard nonetheless, the sickening sound of an echoing crack being the bad tell as the BladePriest's head wrenched to the side. Taking a few short steps, the BladePriest soon fell over, not getting up again.

"Alright, I'll take the 'Dumbass of the Year' award, thank you very much." Merikh chuckled, admitting to his own foolishness as he and Alvara let go of the empty Walker shell, dropping to the floor with light thumps.

"I think you deserve something more like just 'Ass of the Year'." Alvara countered, making a joke at Merikh's snide comments.

"Nah, that one goes to your sister Sivala." Merikh burned, Alvara not having a retort for that.

"I _would _criticize your actions and call you reckless, self-destructive, among other things, but you just killed a BladePriest, so I can't be too mad. I guess this is going to be yet another wild report for the Vanguard." Caldwell admitted, stopping when he heard a strange noise that sounded like soft footsteps off to his left. Looking at one of the doors, it happened to be where those Thugs were sent off to, a single House of Devils Vandal limping in. Clutching their stomach with their lower hands the Fallen's hands were coated in blood, becoming more obvious as the wounded Vandal fell to their knees. Rolling over onto their back as the Vandal's legs gave way completely, things were looking grim.

"Well, I'll just take care of this if nobody minds….." Barrett offered, walking over to execute the Vandal with a stab of his Necrochasm. Winding back, the stab was abruptly stopped as Alvara wrenched the gun from his hands.

"Wait! Would you hang on a second, you _thick-skinned brick house!_" Alvara berated, using Barrett's rifle to shove him back a few steps. About to respond, this was cut off as Caldwell's Ghost flew between them, giving Barrett a glare despite only having one eye. Carrying on to the Fallen, Caldwell's Ghost flew in close, scanning the Fallen in their last moments of life.

"What's with the proportions on this one? He looks all funny." Merikh asked, finding they looked nothing like a normal Vandal.

"That's because, judging by the genetic makeup scans I'm getting, this Vandal is a woman." Caldwell's Ghost answered, sounding like he was checking for something. "Scans show no incredibly deep damage, just an incredibly nasty skin breach. I'd estimate she has about 20 minutes to live."

Looking at the Ghost, the Fallen acted strangely, reaching out with one hand to gently try and touch it instead of hissing, slashing, or acting incredibly violent. Hesitant yet still willing to play ball, the Ghost stayed where he was, the Vandal lightly pushing one of the Ghost's edges almost as if in admiration.

"Mind if I…try to talk to her?" Alvara asked, kneeling down beside the Vandal. Flying closer to the Vandal, Caldwell's Ghost spoke something in what was assumed to be his database on the Fallen language that he used to decode Fallen comms. Saying something back, the Vandal seemed to understand him.

"She said she'll talk. Just say what you want and I'll translate her speech into your comm systems." Caldwell's Ghost explained, seeming quite calm due to the Vandal's relaxed behavior.

"What's your name?" Alvara asked, wanting to start simple.

"Kyva….House of Devils." The Vandal, Kyva, answered, coughing lightly after doing so.

"Do you hate humans? Awoken? Exo?" Alvara prodded, admittedly still needing to get to the point.

"Hah…no. My House is full of simple-minded barbarians who want nothing more than to see your City burn and humanity exterminated. I, on the other hand, wish to see the Fallen restored to what we once were. We weren't always nomadic squatters, but it seems like all the Houses are content to remain that way." Kyva spat, seemingly dissatisfied with her own House. "I keep quiet to keep my head, but I'm sure my Baron knew. Probably why he sent me out here on this suicide mission to attack a Kings Factory."

"So…..you'd be willing to work with us?" Alvara suggested, sounding hopeful.

"Alright, hold up a damn moment. We are _not _taking in a-" Merikh started to object, receiving a hard punch to the stomach as Alvara rose to her feet with blinding speed, not even having time to retaliate as Alvara swept his feet out from under him. "_Point made….._"

"I don't see why you bother asking. You'll probably just _shoot me_ anyway." Kyva pointed out, slightly belligerent.

"I give you my word, let's strike a deal: This Ghost here can heal you. Leave your House and join us, and I promise we'll heal your wound. I'll take you in personally." Alvara suggested, dead-set on her and Carwyn's long-discussed plan to explore the concept of friendly Fallen. Staring at Alvara as if in contemplative thought, the Vandal eventually agreed.

"Very…very well," The Vandal agreed, having to repeat her first word as she coughed again. "I'll abandon my House on the condition that you don't betray me."

Going along with the agreement, Caldwell's Ghost quickly and sharply cauterized the open wound. It wouldn't serve in the long term, but it would keep her alive until they reached their ships.

"Now, something we'll need to change: We can't call her Kyva, the City comm lines know that's a Fallen name. We'll need to give her a new name." Merikh pointed out, trying to keep his skepticism of the situation to a vocal minimum in avoidance of another beating.

"Why not Kyra? It's a human name, and only one letter off." Caldwell's Ghost suggested, the Fireteam unanimously agreeing as Alvara helped Kyra to her feet.

"Now, the big green guy who tried to stab you is Barrett, that's Caldwell, that's Carwyn, and that's Merikh. Keep away from Merikh and Barrett, they're the belligerent asses of the group. Caldwell isn't too terribly friendly, but unless you give him a reason to hate you, he'll be fine." Alvara explained without remorse, pointing out each Fireteam member for the newly-inducted.

"I'm standing right here." Barrett reminded, Alvara seemingly more preoccupied with giving Kyra something to lean on in compensation for her still-shaky footing. Helping the Vandal limp out of the factory, the Fireteam departed.

_Later, inside Alvara's Jumpship, unknown landing point…._

"I still don't see the point in this." Merikh reminded, having helped Alvara in fully fixing Kyra's wounds. Currently, having received a rather potent sedative before Merikh went to work on her, Kyra was passed out on the floor. More specifically, she was curled up tight by the engine and covered in three layers of blankets, which Alvara's Ghost said would be much more comfortable for a Fallen due to them being cold-blooded reptilians.

"Me and Carwyn want to see if the concept of friendly Fallen isn't so foreign. You're welcome to hate her all you want, just keep it to yourself. And who knows, maybe she'll grow on you. Either way, I'm going to sleep. Don't stay too long." Alvara closed the conversation, turning and heading up to the front of the ship where her minuscule bed was located. Taking one last look at Kyra, Merikh drew his card. Tossing it up, Merikh caught it, expecting to know exactly what would come. Still looking at Kyra, Merikh brought the card up into his vision, only for it to have turned out Ace of Spades for once.

_You fucking kidding me?! __**She's**__ good luck?!_

Post-Chapter Note

Plot twist! I was actually surprised when the only comment on who's Komodo's #6 might be was Zulu because I was afraid I was telegraphing it too much with so much emphasis on Kyra at the end of some chapters. And now, something to admit: Kyra's addition into the squad wasn't some last-minute thing, I literally formed the whole idea for this story way back before the Beta was even announced with a desire to have 5 Guardians and a Fallen together in a squad. As time went on and more details were released I refined the concept and eventually came to what I have now. The name Kyva was actually intentionally a modification of Kyra since I knew a Fallen couldn't just innately have a human name, so the design process actually went in reverse of what it looks like. This is all playing into the overarching theme of putting into question just how evil some of the Races are. I'll say it now the Vex and Hive are irrefutably evil. Their very existence is more or less supplemented by the Darkness, that's that. But the Cabal and Fallen, while there will still be mass majorities of them that oppose humans, this brings into light some small groups who may think differently.

One such example is something I intend to feature soon, a new Fallen House called the House of the Sun. Where they are I won't say, but it'll be all part of the larger explanation for the origin stories of the Cabal and Fallen that I've developed just for this story. Given Destiny's thoroughly shanked writing ala the big writer-leaving fiasco and shoeing in some asshat to write the Grimoires at the last minute, I'm not going to deathly adhere to the Grimoires, but I am going to play them into it from time to time where it seems fitting. Might not earn me too many points with Bungie now that it seems like they're spotlighting community lore-thinkers too, but I'm more focused on putting out a good story. Also, don't judge Kyra too heavily. I've had quite a bit of practice depicting her at various points down the line ranging all the way back from just before Destiny was released through private scenes I write and send to a good friend of mine to review my "Late-Game" ideas in practice, so her attitude will most definitely change as time goes on and bonds form.

Speaking of behavior, I put in the segment about Rainera commanding the tanks to sort of push off the stupid savages vibe that seems to be hinted on in-game for the Fallen in favor of one that seems more organized, like a sort of dead royalty and order still trying to function. Another note about Rainera: Forget anything I'd said in previous chapters about Fallen heights, as I just recently standardized my depictions for various Fallen Classes going forward. It's as follows: Captain: 6'3", Baron: 9', BladePriest: 13', Archon/Archon Priest: 15', and finally, Kell: 20'. Not saying this is what everyone should adhere to, nor that they're accurate to in-game, just that within this story, those are the numbers the Fallen will go by.

Next up on the list of things I wanted to mention is why I made the BladePriest bulletproof: As I'm sure many of you have seen, plenty of community members have at least at one point been irate that all the Strike bosses are basically bullet sponges, so with this I tried to spin that on its head by introducing the concept of an enemy you need to use the environment to kill. This one was relatively quick and simple just to introduce the concept, but I promise the next one won't be so easy…

Beyond that, for future reference, the Fallen Anti-Materiel rifle is called the Thunder Rifle for the thunderous sound it makes, and the massive Hive beast is presently unnamed, but will be seen and fought at a later time. Finally, in terms of down-the-road content additions, I spent some time delaying this chapter to really set the road for a lot of additions to come, even though it's not all at once. I fully rounded out theories for both Cabal and Fallen origins in their entirety, have a second new Cabal unit that's a variant of the first new one I teased, and a Cabal sniper rifle that can be described as a Cabal-ified Barrett .50 shooting ammo that's best referred to as being like the hellish fusion of .50 cal and Rauffoss exploding rounds. In addition, there's the new Fallen House, plans to feature the loosely mentioned Bone Crushers and Ice Reapers Cabal divisions mentioned on the wiki (Might the latter be hinted by the Cabal parts in the factory?), a new Hive sect, and a new Cabal division called the Earth Crashers that brings back what I'm sure we all thought all Cabal were going to be like at some point before Destiny released: Ta'aurc-sized. Psions and the new units will still be their normal size, but the "Big" Cabal like Centurions, Legionaries, etc. will be as big as Ta'aurc with scaled-up guns to compensate.

Finally, new locales to expect down the line (Aside from ones brought up by Bungie at various points like Europa, those are a shoe-in) include Germany, various parts of Africa, Mercury, and exploration of what remains in Saturn's belt. That's not the final list, but it's what I'm confident to reveal so far. Oh, and finally, how does getting to see Xol, Wife of Crota sound?


	6. The Sunken City

Chapter 6: The Sunken City

_Southeastern Maat Mons, Venus…_

Flying in low over a cleared-out, muddy patch of ground amidst the jungles of Venus, Alvara's Jumpship slowly descended until it was close to the ground, at which point it trans-matted out its two occupants.

"Any particular reason the rest of your squad did not follow?" Kyra asked, having landed on one knee with her upper left hand to the floor, still far from used to the concept of trans-matting. Her uniform was 99% unchanged, the only edit being the removal of her cape. Not only did it grant easier access to the magnetic clips for holstering firearms on her back, but it also prevented her from getting mixed up with actual Devil Vandals.

"I'm not bound to _only _go places with the rest of them, just obliged to go along if the Vanguard, Speaker, or another important figure gives us a job. There were a few instances where Caldwell had something of his own accord that he wanted help with, but those are few and far between." Alvara explained, far more relaxed about the situation.

"I see…I got similar leeway when I was with the Devils. Rik-….._a friend…_used to commonly permit me to go out and explore on my own accord so long as I was back within six hours. My Baron never liked it, but he never liked me either." Kyra remembered, knowing Riksis was well-known among Guardians. She had no intention so far of betraying this Awoken, so best to not force that hand with a bad choice of words.

"Well, in case we find him out here for some reason, take a look at this:" Alvara got Kyra's attention, pulling out a rare weapon for Guardians. Almost like the little brother to the Auto Rifle, Alvara held a gun which resembled a Shingen-E painted bright white, with no stock and a cut-down barrel that was missing easily half its length. The vertical metal piece used to slot magazines firmly into place was gone, and the magazine was instead curving forward like those of the ancient AK rifles. "It's called the Shirai-80 SMG. The City's non-Guardian patrol crews like it, but most Guardians don't use SMGs, they feel like Auto Rifles are a direct upgrade. I personally disagree, and I hope you will too."

Giving a demonstration, Alvara made sure the safety was off before blazing the deceptively deep 40-round magazine into the brush. Firing at blistering speed matching that of the affectionately named 'Bullet-Hose' Auto Rifles, the SMG looked like it should have arm-shattering kick to it. Despite that, Alvara largely held it steady. Emptying the magazine, Alvara tossed the gun to Kyra.

"You…..expect me to use this?" Kyra asked with an odd twinge of nervousness, not sounding very confident.

"What, did you expect me to have you tag along while I patrol Venus and just leave you with your fists?" Alvara pointed out, not seeing the problem.

"It's just…..I….don't know how to use human firearms." Kyra stalled, still crossly holding the gun sideways in all four hands like when she caught it.

"It's pretty simple, just point the barrel-end at the bad guys and pull the trigger. There's a little bit of recoil, but those SMGs fire a lower caliber than Auto Rifles, so it's nothing that'll make the gun jump up and smack you in the face." Alvara poorly explained, not factoring in that nearly all Fallen guns utilize Shock Cores: As such, the concept of magazines and how to load them is currently beyond her.

Realizing her mistake a few seconds later, Alvara pulled the spare mag she'd brought with her and moved closer, guiding Kyra to hold it properly in her upper hands.

"Now, I emptied the magazine. Just grab it by the bottom end and wrench that end upwards, it'll pop right out. Put this new one in basically in reverse of how you took out the empty one, and it's ready to fire." Alvara more properly guided, standing just behind Kyra and guiding the Fallen's motions. Wrenching the magazine out as instructed, Kyra was surprised to see how easily the new one went in.

"Now what, do I hit a button, pull something…?" Kyra inquired, finding it weird that just inserting a mag was the full extent of it.

"On an Auto Rifle, yeah. With SMGs like this one, one of their selling points is it does all that action after inserting the magazine for you, so it reloads faster. Only reason it's not on bigger guns is the system doesn't work too well with larger caliber rounds. Go ahead and fire it, see how it feels." Alvara suggested, wanting Kyra to have a proper defensive weapon before they run into anything. Tightly held together lower hands betraying her unease, Kyra held down the trigger, blazing the magazine without the self-injury she was expecting.

"That was…..unexpected. My arm's still working." Kyra admitted, taking her upper right hand off the trigger to roll her shoulder a bit and make sure nothing was damaged.

"Told you it'd be fine. Also, most of the spare ammo's in that Transmat-Storage device I gave you. Until we can rig up a smart-system into your armor so you can mentally direct the device on what to pop out, just tap it with the palm of your hand and it'll generate a mag from storage for you. Might be a bit tricky catching it as it appears at first, but you'll get the hang of it." Alvara noted, having given most of the gun's spare ammo to Kyra except for the 2 used in the little demonstration. Hitting the outside of the small, octagon-shaped device affixed to the left side of her belt, the mag materialized as Alvara said it would, though it appearing faster than Kyra anticipated resulted in it falling to the floor. Scrambling to pick it up, the Fallen was quite quick in wrenching out the empty mag and putting in the new one.

"Well then…shall we move on?" Kyra said in a tone indicative of trying to ignore her little blunder. Obliging the strangely nervous Fallen, Alvara led the way as they followed a cleared path.

"Why are you so jumpy? Just a few nights ago you sounded like you had contempt for us, now you're fidgeting and behaving like you just met your idol." Alvara inquired, the trail they were following being quite quiet aside from the chirping of exotic birds in the distance.

"Because, at the time I wasn't expecting any genuine kindness. I was expecting to be thrown in sub-average living conditions and interrogated for information, but you? I would be shot by the Devils just for saying this, but you showed a genuine care for my well-being, even stood up to that big Barrett person in my defense. And you hardly know anything about me, so to think a total stranger would do that is…..well, that's explicitly the problem I'm running into: I've had plenty of enemies within the Devils. I've also killed many Kings, Hive, and even some weaker Guardians. It's gotten to be quite easy for me to adopt a no-mercy, executioner's approach to dealing with my enemies. But, that leaves a complication in the form of allies." Kyra explained, kneading her lower hands together as they walked while still keeping her SMG pointed around with her upper hands.

"What kind of a problem?" Alvara wondered, demonstrating a distinct amount of patience for the Vandal.

"I've only ever had one friend in the Devils. The rest either hate me, don't know me, or are neutral. As such, I've gotten so used to this ruthless way of thinking that when confronted with someone I _don't _wish to harm, I don't know what to do or say. I can't make threats, I can't point my gun at them, all my usual behavioral responses don't agree with the kind of status I wish to hold with that person, so as I believe I heard you say the other day, I 'lock up'." Kyra clarified, figuring this was a key piece of information that should be brought up. She wasn't about to just present all her knowledge as an open book, but something like this could lower the suspicions of Alvara's teammates.

"Hm, no offense, but I hope that doesn't clear up too much. You're pretty adorable when you don't know what to say or do." Alvara admitted, knowing it would probably put a metaphorical hot poker in Kyra's ass.

"I'm _w-what?!_" Kyra stammered, proving Alvara's point.

"Relax, it's a good thing." Alvara cliffhanger'd the conversation, doing so as they exited the thick of the jungle and came to a terrace overlooking one of Venus' many abandoned cities. Just in front of them was a wide-reaching dirt hill that sloped downwards, with chunks of concrete overtaken by foliage indicating the city had split from the nearby jungle and diagonally sunken down to where it is now. There were multiple high-rising skyscrapers, open plazas, what looked like lower-set auditorium buildings, and even a shattered railway system. The depth seemed to go further with ramps disappearing into the floor in indication of underground structures, though the biggest eye-catcher was the massive, easily 60/70-foot-long blue flags with the logo of the House of Winter emblazoned on them hanging off the top of multiple different skyscrapers. Gently rippling in the breeze, the flags were a monolithic reminder of the city's new occupants. "To believe this used to be Venus. Still a paradise, though I heard the buildings looked _much _better at one point. I wonder what the House of Winter is doing around here…"

"It's because they're not like the Devils and Kings. The Devils see no difference between your world and our own, they wage war wherever they find you because they want to start anew and reforge what we used to be on the blood and bodies of the planet's previous occupants. The Kings? They're a mess. We heard rumors that their Kell had been usurped and murdered by a Baron within the House a few months ago. Supposedly the coward laid an elaborate trap and murdered the Kell when he was distracted, then claimed the seat for himself. He may have been a Baron, but the Kings began making stupid moves under his command. All their notorious members were dying in foolish attacks and doomed-to-fail operations against us and the Hive. The Kings already had a serious infighting problem since they're built on the air-headed ideal that they're naturally better than any other House, but low morale from almost all the notorious members dying made it worse. Last I heard Rainera was one of only two Barons left in the House: Most Houses have upwards of 10-15." Kyra regaled, not finding knowledge about her enemies to be anything worth holding back.

"What sets the Winter apart then?" Alvara wondered as they both dropped to a kneel, not wanting to be spotted by a keen Vandal.

"Draksis may not be the most social Fallen you'll ever meet, but he has a goal: Like how the Devils seek to elevate the Fallen with blood and fury, the Winter primarily aim to elevate our race using whatever secrets your kind left behind. They know you had a prosperous age filled with technological advancement, and they also know much of it was left behind instead of destroyed. They're willing to do the digging, so it's simply a matter of what ancient secrets they can use against you." Kyra revealed, not able to see any specific Fallen patrolling rooftops due to her lack of a scoped weapon. Seeing a way down, Alvara slowly stepped to the edge, scooting her feet off as she tried to gently slide down a precarious dirt hill. Not seeing any better way down, Kyra followed, not expecting what would come next. Kicking off the hill to land on a chunk of concrete Alvara had descended to, the more forceful approach caused the chunk to give way, taking Alvara and Kyra down with it. Freely sliding down the hill, both women were left trying to balance on top like a glorified snowboard as it sped up.

"This is getting _very _bad, _very _quick!" Kyra yelled as they struck a particularly bad bump, causing them to both fall flat forward, forced to lay stomach-down on the concrete chunk as it showed no signs of stopping. Coming to the edge of the hill, the momentum the concrete chunk had gained caused it to sail off the edge of the hill, flying out over the sunken city below as it crashed through a skylight. Smashing the glass, frame and all, to pieces, the concrete chunk slammed into the ground inside the room it had breached, smashing to bits from the force.

"Well, I'd call that a class-A landing….." Alvara groaned, rolling over onto her back, a few seconds of stillness being needed after such an event.

"Do you Guardians always joke after something this bad happens?" Kyra also groaned, stumbling on her way to a standing position.

"You should see Merikh: If nobody's injured after something life-threatening happens, he'll usually make a joke about it." Alvara admitted, rolling over onto her hands and knees before getting up. Looking around, Alvara's Ghost came up to provide some light around the far-darker edges of the room. Taking a good look at their surroundings, they were in some kind of dilapidated, almost water-eroded room with no purpose, the most they could glean being the sight of damaged or overturned tables and chairs, maybe some kind of improv'd boardroom.

"No wonder you were so quick to hit him." Kyra commented pushing one of the large tables off to the side in order to clear a route out.

"He's got his charms at times, just need to not be too critical of him. Even if he is a toothpick." Alvara joked, referring to the fact that Merikh was easily the tallest member of Komodo, but also was hands-down the skinniest and most wirey member as well. Exiting the room they were in, the two crash-landers came to a windowside row of cubicles, some of the roof paneling having fallen down with cables and other wiring dangling out. All the lights were completely fried, leaving their only source of light as the wall of one-way glass to the left, which bled in the light as a strange green-gold hue. In addition, a chunk of the room was totally dark, the light obscured by the massive House of Winter flag hanging off the side of the building. Strangely, all forms of electronic devices seemed to have been looted, no doubt as part of the Winter's never-ending pursuit of new information to use. Moving along the line of cubicles, Kyra eventually snapped into a frozen position, blocking Alvara's path with an outstretched lower-right arm.

"Wait….do you hear that?" Kyra asked, Alvara only hearing dead silence. Waiting about 10 seconds, Kyra then firmly grabbed Alvara's arm and yanked her over towards the windows. "Wait back here."

"What the hell are you doing?! There's nobody here!" Alvara pointed out, crouching behind one of the cubicles nonetheless.

"Not yet. Wait for me to attack, then join in. Sounded like they have a Thug with them." Kyra clarified, grabbing a small, damaged metal rod with a sharp end in her lower hands as she stood on one of the cubicle desks, then crawled up into the space above the roof paneling. Disappearing out of sight, Alvara still wondered how the Fallen so easily did such things when, much to her surprise, she could hear the clanking and clattering of heavy Fallen shin-guards. Going invisible, Alvara peeked up to safely look as she saw a Thug, 4 Vandals, and a painfully large amount of Dregs, the Thug and Vandals armed with Shrapnel Launchers while the Dregs carried a mix of Shrapnel Launchers and their trademark pistol/dagger combo. Seeing the Thug moving as if he were prowling for something, the Thug's process was interrupted by what sounded like a metal panel being kicked. Following up after that was the roof panel above the Thug dislodging as Kyra came down, slamming the sharpened rod into the Thug's shoulder. Climbing up to stand on the Thug's shoulders before jumping off, Kyra yelled a barely-audible 'now' as she leapt for the floor, Alvara losing her shot at the Thug. A Dreg wanting the kill, his pursuit after a scrambling Kyra resulted in him taking Alvara's Auto-Rifle fire, shielding the Thug as the large Fallen pulled back around the corner. Kyra fumbling to take cover behind a cubicle just across the small path from Alvara's, both had to stay low as the Vandals opened fire.

Ducking, both had to wait as the Vandals let loose with their Shrapnel Launchers, blasting molten holes in the flimsy cubicles and roasting whatever haphazard pieces of paper they grazed. Quickly tossing a Flux Grenade around the corner, Alvara succeeded in sticking it to a Vandal's leg, throwing him off-balance before taking him and two of the Dregs out. Kyra popping up to fire, she succeeded in taking down two more Dregs before one armed with a Shock Pistol and Dagger showed blatant disregard, clambering up over the wall of the cubicle and leaping at her. Taking a swing with his dagger, the Dreg scrambled and kicked off the desk on Kyra's side as the latter dropped her gun, intercepting the Dreg hand-for-hand as she let him push her flat down. Using it to her advantage, Kyra used the momentum of being shoved onto her back to lift her legs up, striking the Dreg low and effectively rolling him right over her. Slamming into the glass back-first, the Dreg fell down and righted his posture, noticing his Shock Dagger was gone.

Kyra having taken it, the Ex-Devil lunged for him, missing a gut-stab as she only ended up piercing the cylinder keeping the Dreg's lower left arm from growing back. Leaving the dagger where it was, Kyra tried to kick the Dreg out the window. Striking him in the chest with her foot, this was skewed in favor of them both flying out the window as something struck her in the back, hard. The first thing she saw being the faded white metropolis below, Kyra instinctively grabbed at the House of Winter flag in front of her, swinging forward and back as she clutched it with all four hands for dear life. Looking back in at the shattered window, she saw the now Shrapnel Launcher-less Thug standing there, having shoulder-bashed her out the window. Noticing what the Thug had done, Alvara tried to get him with a well-placed stab to the abdomen, only to get backhanded. Striking the corner of her cubicle with her spine, the one at a disadvantage was now actually the Thug. Collecting her dropped knife as the Thug drew his large electrified Odachi weapon, Alvara's mood changed drastically.

"_You high-and-mighty scavenging sack of shit, you'll need __**8 **__arms to hold your guts in for that!" _Alvara yelled in a tone that almost felt like she was a whole different person, her blade becoming enveloped in Arclight. Shaping itself like a larger version of her knife, the pure Arc-Energy blade illuminated any remaining dark areas of the room in a vibrant blue glow. Lunging for the Thug, Alvara's first slash was blocked, followed up by an underhanded swipe to the Thug's wrist to disarm him. The scalding hot Arc energy forcing the Thug to drop his weapon, this was succeeded by a leaping slash at the Thug's abdomen, disintegrating him in a dissipating blue silhouette. Vanishing from sight, Alvara turned her sights on the remaining Fallen, their reply being a cacophonous echo of screams and panicked gunfire as Alvara ducked under and around them, slashing through their abdomens as the Fallen dissipated. Down to two Vandals, Alvara's blade burned out and returned to normal, not meaning much as she kicked one in the shin, keeping him preoccupied as she slammed her knife into the back of his neck. Getting behind the dead Fallen, Alvara used it as a meat-shield to deflect gunfire from the last Vandal, pushing closer before throwing the meat-shield off to the side. Getting this second Vandal with a direct stab in the stomach, Alvara braced her left hand on the Vandal's right shoulder as she pushed him back-first against a cubicle.

"I know you can't understand me, but you don't need to. You just need to _suffer, to watch in slow pain as your soul tries, harder and harder, to leave your body. Through it all, your lack of a quick death's keeping you here as my knife refuses to-_" Alvara started to whisper, the Vandal having slid down to a sitting position as his eyes grew dimmer, not quite dead yet. Still having more to say, she was interrupted and snapped out of whatever trance she was in as she could hear Kyra saying something quite loudly.

"I understand my people's flags are very sturdy to survive the elements, but I've never exactly tested how tough they are bearing my weight this high up the side of a building!" Kyra called out, having avoided just swinging back in due to not knowing how many Fallen were left inside.

"Uhm…it's alright! They're all dead in here, try and jump back in!" Alvara called out, pulling her knife out of the dead Winter Vandal as she ran to the broken glass pane, trying to ignore what just happened. Kyra was painstakingly climbing her way back up, but even a Fallen can't say they have much experience swinging from a House flag 60-floors up with no ground under their feet. Going up slowly as she grabbed shaky handfuls of the flag, Kyra eventually scaled back up to be on-level with the window. Taking a chance, Kyra tried to take a swinging leap of faith at the shattered window, successfully leaping back into the skyscraper. On the contrary, she wasn't anticipating Alvara to be right there at the edge, effectively tackling the Awoken Hunter as she dove back in. Landing in a heap, the two intruders would've been perfectly vulnerable in the event of more attackers.

"To believe that, in a few short days, I go from dying on the floor of a Kings factory to swinging on House of Winter flags on a planet I've never been on before, all while working with the kind of person I've always thought would succeed in killing me. Is that peculiar, or is it just me?" Kyra asked between deep breaths as she calmed her nerves, already exhibiting small traces of Merikh's sense of humor. Half-sitting up, Kyra looked around in confusion. "Where are all the Fallen? I'm seeing all of…two new bodies since I got launched out the window."

"It's….a long story. Maybe lets just keep going once you get off before more Winter show up?" Alvara suggested, effectively pinned to the floor. Obliging, Kyra got up and grabbed her SMG, looking out at the city below.

"I think we should get to the roof, I could probably reactivate one of the nearby elevators." Alvara's Ghost suggested, appearing and floating around between them,

"Do all your…..Ghosts? Is that what you call them? Do they _all _sound exactly the same?" Kyra asked, slightly confused.

"What do you mean?" Alvara inquired, not getting it. While Alvara and Kyra had their conversation, Alvara's Ghost flew off to reactivate that elevator.

"It's just, your Ghost sounds exactly the same as that Merikh person's Ghost, and even Caldwell's. They all sound exactly the same." Kyra pointed out, not understanding the why behind it.

"I….always thought it was mine talking. I never thought that everyone else was hearing the same voice I was." Alvara admitted, her mind just slightly blown that they might've all been listening to the exact same voice. She always thought they were varied and hers was just the only one to speak up to her.

"I hate to burst the bubble, but I got the elevator working. Lets head up to the roof, we can get a better idea on what's around from up there." Alvara's Ghost suggested, placing a waypoint within Alvara's HUD for her to follow. Following Alvara's lead, Kyra stuck close behind. Entering the elevator, the two waited as Alvara's Ghost flew in too, striking the panel with a Ghost's trademark blue beam as the lights flickered on, the doors shut, and the elevator started to go upwards at a credible pace.

"I know we're kinda getting a bit rocky with this, but this is at least somewhat pleasant for you, isn't it?" Alvara tried to make conversation to distract her from the decrepit, partly moss-afflicted elevator. The terrible music Alvara's Ghost no doubt put priority on revitalizing wasn't helping either.

"I still find it strange that I'm helping the kind of people I used to be taught to resent and despise, but aside from that, this is more eventful than anything when I was with the Devils." Kyra admitted, finding it odd that Alvara kept coming back to this. "Why do you keep asking?"

"It's…..me and Carwyn, the other guy who defended you back in that King factory, have always been interested by the rumors of friendly Fallen. We figured that since the Fallen have chosen sides against each other in some cases, we wondered if that same logic could cause a Fallen to side with us. Most of the City doesn't see the Fallen as sociable, but me and Carwyn saw it differently. That's why I insisted on treating you so well, I believe I've got to give a little nice to get some back." Alvara laid out the full explanation of her motives for saving Kyra, her tone indicating she expected Kyra to react harshly.

"Maybe we're not so different after all. I'll explain when we get to the roof. Also, do you have one of those small single-shot weapons your people use?" Kyra inquired, getting increasingly irritated.

"A Hand Cannon? Why?" Alvara asked with an edgy tone in her voice, wary of Kyra's intentions. Regardless, she drew one, passing it to Kyra. Taking the Hand Cannon in her lower right hand, Kyra aimed the Hand Cannon up high without moving her head where she was aiming. Firing a round into the roof of the elevator while still remaining stock still, the music cut out as Kyra passed the revolver back.

"That music was driving me crazy." Kyra answered as Alvara took the gun back, humorously demonstrating that even Fallen hated elevator music. Riding the rest of the way in silence as they reached the 80th floor, the duo exited onto the roof, there only being one Vandal on guard. Moving her SMG to one of the two magnetic clips on her back, Kyra slowly crept closer, gesturing for Alvara to wait. Not having many ideas for a quick kill, Kyra resorted to shoving the Vandal over the edge of the roof, not feeling much sympathy for the plummeting Fallen. Looking at what the soon-to-be-dead-Vandal had lying around, Kyra was ecstatic to find a gun she knew how to use.

"So….what were you going to tell me?" Alvara reminded, walking over as Kyra eagerly got her hands on the Winter Vandal's Wire Rifle.

"I frequently came into conflict with my House, especially the Baron I served under, entirely because I don't believe what they believe. I want to restore the Fallen to their former glory, but I don't believe it has to be done on the blood and bone of our enemies, nor do we need to run these self-perceived enemies of the Fallen out in the first place. Of course, what am I going to do? Found my own House in honor of the Traveler and try to make my entire race forget how we were abandoned?" Kyra satirical griped, accidentally spilling a little too much.

"…come again?" Alvara asked with intrigue, not letting Kyra get away with this. Taking a deep breath, Kyra closed her four eyes and started from the top.

"Yes, we met the Traveler too. Why do you think we call ourselves the Fallen? You think _your _people came up with that title? We were once a prosperous, unified race. We had a home planet, it was like the jungles here on Venus: Warm, moist, a warm sun providing comfort almost anywhere you went. I believe your people would call it a paradise planet, and that's when the Traveler showed up. At first all was well, we made new advances in technology beyond our comprehension and even adopted the ability to use powers none could dream of, such as an Archon's stomp or the way Captains teleport. They're not much different from the abilities of your Guardians." Kyra elaborated, drawing a parallel between Blink and the Captain's teleport, as well as the Fists of Havoc and an Archon's stomp.

"Is that why your people depend on Ether so much? Aftereffect of the Traveler?" Allayer suggested, thoroughly intrigued.

"That was already the case. Our home planet was on the edge of a dimensional rift. A tear in space and time that acted like a hole in the border between this world and the world after. This rift, according to my elders, bled a subtle wave onto the planet that mutated us, made us dependent on that aura emitted by the tear in order to survive. It made us intensely more in touch with our souls, but also handicapped us with our dependance on Ether. In order to not die out, our last defiant act before fleeing our homeworld was to build the Servitors. We utilized a blueprint design given to us by the Traveler and made these machines, so now we gather up scrap for the Servitors to turn into more Ether. Even with the promise of survival, morale was so low and tensions were rising so high that our migratory fleet of Ketches split once we reached your solar system. That was the formation of the Houses, the various commanding Captains of these ships adorning themselves with the new title of Kell to lead their little splinter factions. They only communicated once with each other beyond that point to declare the names of their new Houses and collectively agree that the humans needed to be eliminated. Past that, they all went their own ways." Kyra explained, still leaving some questions.

"How did things fall so far down for your people?" Alvara wondered, finding it odd to think the Fallen just….crashed.

"The Hive. The damned Hive showed up and the Traveler fled us. Left us to fight the Hive. When we realized we couldn't win, our entire race got together in our Ketches and followed the Traveler's general direction. With one Prime Servitor on each ship, it was relatively easy to follow the Traveler, and when we found it helping the humans, the leadership of our race was furious. That's part of why most Fallen resent humans." Kyra brought to light, putting the bigger picture quite clearly into focus.

"You mentioned 'your elders' at one point….did you never get to see your homeworld?" Alvara asked, feeling bad for Kyra. At least Alvara got to live in The Reef for a while before she died and came back as a Guardian.

"No, I was born partway through our journey from our home planet. It was about…100 years before we found your solar system." Kyra estimated, not remembering too well.

"So you've been alive this whole time? How old _are _you exactly?" Alvara said in a half-surprised, half-perplexed tone.

"About 415 years old. I wouldn't take it as a surprise though: Rainera was already a Baroness when I was born. She's got to be at least 5 or 600 years old." Kyra recalled, not knowing for sure.

"And to believe most people just think your race are a bunch of violent savages…..come on, lets get out of this city. If we get to the edge of it I'm sure I can have my ship get us out." Alvara almost lamented on Kyra's behalf, deciding to use one of the many Fallen-installed ziplines threading between the various skyscrapers in the city. Grabbing hold of it, Alvara began to go down the zipline when the faint sound of a Wire Rifle went off, severing the cable behind her. Letting go of the small device she was using to ride the zipline in favor of holding the cable itself, Alvara was forcefully swung at high speed across the city. Going with the cable as it tried to fall flat against the building that the other end was affixed to, Alvara's comm line went silent as the last Kyra could see was the Hunter smashing through a pane of glass.

"Alvara?!….Human! Are you there?!" Kyra exclaimed over the rudimentary link her helmet's comm-system had to Alvara's Ghost, using her Wire Rifle's scope to try and scan for the missing Hunter.

"For the record, I'm an Awoken. There's a difference." Alvara groaned, the sound of crunching glass in the background indicating that she had a sore, albeit safe landing.

"You're a small ways from that city exit you wanted to take. I'll find my own way down, for now you should worry about getting to ground level." Kyra advised, taking a zipline that led to a different building much closer to ground level. Now only about 20 floors up rather than 80, Kyra was in a much better position to cover Alvara as the latter jumped out the window, using Blink to negate her momentum and touch down safely. Looking around for a target, Kyra found a group of Winter Fallen patrolling through, the Captain leading them making an exclamatory gesture and pointing in Alvara's direction. Charging up a shot, Kyra knew she wouldn't kill the Captain, instead pegging the Vandal standing beside the Captain as a visceral warning shot. The group of Winter Fallen scattering for cover, Kyra was about to further support Alvara's ground advance when a thunderous bang erupted.

Jerking out of the way as chunks of the roof she was flew upwards, Kyra looked around for the source of the shot, only to find it was from an unpleasantly bigger rifle. About two rooftops off from her location was a Fallen Baron with red on his uniform instead of blue, a Thug's helmet and hood, and slatted shoulder/bicep armor on his shoulders, his forearms on all four arms being wrapped up in black cloth instead of having armor plates. In his hands the Baron held a Thunder Rifle, and sheathed on his belt were two Shock Blades. Making a retaliatory shot, Kyra clipped the Baron in the shoulder, the thin metal of her round only grazing it. Deciding the only way to win would be to get closer, Kyra vaulted over the edge of the roof as she slung her Wire Rifle onto her back, grabbing hold of a Winter Flag on the adjacent building. Climbing up, Kyra had to immediately run to the right as the Baron fired again, the massive metal pin fired by his Thunder Rifle fracturing the first chunk of roof it impacted. Switching to her SMG, Kyra stood up to fire, only to hear it click.

"Worthless human guns, did they never develop recharging power supplies for these things?!" Kyra griped as she wrenched the mag out, comedically tossing it at the Baron to distract him. Hitting the trans-mat device for another mag, Kyra frantically grabbed hold of it as it fell to the floor, not having long before the Baron opened fire again. Loading in a new one, Kyra tried to pin the Baron down with a blaze of fire, inciting the Baron to come to her. Jumping from his rooftop to hers, the Baron threw his Thunder Rifle to the ground, seeming like he wanted to pull the Vandal apart by hand. Moving to the left side of the roof, Kyra was trying to lead the Baron around as she shot him, only for the Baron to close the gap faster than anticipated and tackle her off the roof. At least managing to spin things around so they landed atop a ruined car with the Baron's back going first, Kyra scrambled to put some distance between them as the Baron got up, drawing his swords. Only having the obligatory Shock Dagger all Fallen possessed as a backup, Kyra drew it in her upper right hand as she tried to let the Baron make the first move.

The Baron coming right for her, Kyra ducked and slashed his left thigh, passing up the Baron before leaping onto his back. Stabbing the dagger through the Baron's left shoulder, Kyra leaned all her weight to the right, causing the Baron to stumble and trip off-balance. Crashing through a storefront window, the two Fallen separated again as Kyra reached for a long, metal pipe. Taking a swing at the Baron as he tried to get up, Kyra put all her weight into the swing, knocking the Baron right back over. Doing so again, Kyra was going to try and buy time for herself when Alvara came up by the smashed window on her Sparrow.

"Kyra, come on, we're leaving!" Alvara called out, having dealt with the group of Fallen Kyra helped engage.

"On that dinky little thing?" Kyra questioned, the Baron catching her metal pipe this time and ripping it from her hands as he rose to his feet again. Taking back her comment, Kyra ran for the Sparrow, leaping on the back and haphazardly trying to grab onto Alvara as the latter sped off, leaving the Baron in the dust. Dodging past the Fallen fortifications and making her way to the edge of the city, Alvara pulled around a dirt corner leading up to more oceanside forest, stopping at the sight of a disabled Servitor.

"Who was your friend back there?" Alvara wondered, getting off the Sparrow as Kyra did so too, albeit somewhat shakily.

"A Baron from the House of Devils, I recognized him. The Devils and Winter had been communicating with each other for a while with desires for peace between their Houses, so they set up a sort of exchange to promote that. The Winter sent one of their Barons, Naksis, over to Earth to live among the Devils, and the Devils sent a Baron, Jaxik, to live among the Winter in return. Jaxik used to be a Thug, but when he saved the life of one of our Bladepriests from a Kings surprise attack, he got his lower arms back and became a Baron. For some reason he kept the Thug helmet, not sure if he did so as a reminder for his time as a Thug or because he liked it more." Kyra explained, coughing soon after. Not possessing any wounds, Alvara thought it was strange. "Ah no, not this….Ether Withdrawal. And I don't have a Servitor to supply more either."

"Well, what makes a Servitor capable of creating more Ether? Maybe we can disable this one and steal whatever that piece is." Alvara suggested, trying to remain calm despite the worry in her voice.

"It's….a small drive piece in the middle. Just wrench off the grey circle and you'll find it. If you're really thinking about going through with this, perhaps we can wire it to one of these disabled Shanks." Kyra suggested, grabbing an offline Shank next to the Servitor and pulling its frontal plate off. Alvara getting the drive piece in question removed, the pair set to work trying to jury-rig an Ether-creating Servitor/Shank Hybrid.

_Meanwhile, deep within the Summoning Pits…._

Hiding in the shadows at the edge of the room, Eris Morn watched in silence as the Hive conducted one of their many rituals. Having accepted Ikora's offer, she was here to find out for the Warlock Vanguard what the Hive were doing in their Summoning Pits. They may have successfully killed the abomination Phogoth born in these pits, but there were many more. Watching intently as groups of Acolytes moved massive bones into place within a circular platform emblazoned with Hive Runes, Eris soon realized what they were.

_Those are bones of the Ahamkara _Eris noted, finding it off-putting that the Hive had taken interest in the long-dead Ahamkara dragons. Watching as a group of Wizards surrounded the platform, Eris could tell this would be deathly-valuable information as the Wizards began to chant. The eyeholes of the Ahamkara's large skull flaring up with green fire, its long, segmented spine began to bind together with links of dark energy, pulling together to form the reanimated skeleton of what was once an Ahamkara dragon. Standing up on its four legs, the moderately-sized, probably 30-foot-long dragon let out an ear-shattering roar as it tasted its first breath of life in almost a century. Laying back down, the dragon seemed to wait as the Wizards continued chanting, a layer of flaked, grey skin beginning to form over the bones.

Having seen everything she needed to, Eris fled the Summoning Pits, making the delivery of this information to Ikora her top priority.

Post-Chapter Note

Sorry about the weirdly-ending chapter, I wanted to continue it, but after a big Biology test earlier (Which I only got 89% in, irritates me to no end e.e), my nerves were all frazzled and my usually big writing drive was just dead. Despite that I still wanted to get this chapter out since things like the Fallen Origins were the big thing I wanted to hit on, so I'll just make up for it with the start of the next chapter. More on-point, I wanted to take a slightly different approach to this chapter, making it a little bit more about exploring some of the characters rather than making the primary focus be some kind of large-group mission, hence the lack of most of the Fireteam being present. Also, in order to address something brought up by a review on the last chapter, I'm changing my writing schedule. Before it was just randomly rotate through my stories and update a chapter before moving onto a different story, which leaves large gaps of time in-between where nothing is happening here until I come back to it. In order to capitalize on having an audience (Which I feel I lost with my Borderlands story, hence why the feedback traffic is meh at best) I'm changing my method to Life of the Pack update/Something Else/Life of the Pack update/Something Else. IE after this chapter, I'll do something else (Probably start my Killzone story, finally got around to ironing out some of the details necessary to start that), then right after that something else I'll come back and do LotP 7, then it's back to another something else.

Second, I'll admit I hate to be jerking the reader around in these notes so much with "This will definitely not happen!" then a few chapters later "Oh, well shit, that isn't such a bad idea…", but I never knew about any theory wherein the Vex are possible slaves to the Darkness. (If you think back to Saren being possessed at the end of Mass Effect 1, it's actually a vastly similar concept when you recall the Vex have organic brains) As such, I'm semi-redacting my statement that the Vex are irrefutably, totally evil. I'll say right now that I'm not going to have an existing faction like the Virgo Prohibition or Hezen Protective "Become free", but it honestly opens up quite an interesting possibility to toy with the concept of a splinter faction and just how far the Vex's power over space and time can go. (Plus any attempted rationalization of how an existing Vex faction converted in the present would have any impact in the future because what if more came from the past before this happened, would it affect them and what about ones from the future? Where are the converted ones from? Are they from the future? Present? Past? It would melt my brain trying to explain it and melt yours trying to understand what in the hell I'm trying to say, especially since I wouldn't understand what I'm saying either. It would be much easier to just use a new Program that is anti-Darkness in past, present, and future.

Finally, any comment on character behavior is vastly appreciated. There are two more Fireteam additions planned as the story goes on, but they aren't for a _very _long time, easily 20-30 or so chapters from now. It was originally just one more, but as said earlier, that Vex Slave Theory opened up possibilities I never would've thought of. There's no one race I'm against or would hate to write a character for, I just had Vex off the table and still have Hive off the table (Unless a really good explanation for that too comes around) because I don't want to just shoe them in "'Cuz I'm the writer of this story", I want it to rationally make sense in a context that it could be applicable in-game. Sure that complicates things and restricts some options, but it leaves less holes in the how and why of things. Also, I was going to try and highlight some of Kyra's key fighting differences compared to the other characters, but I feel I kinda fell short on that, so I'll make up for it at a later time. Oh, and if anyone wants a laugh, picture the song Let's Go Shopping from the Payday 2 Soundtrack as the elevator music in question, you'll understand why Kyra wanted to shoot the speaker.


	7. Dark Sand

Chapter 7: Dark Sand

_At an abandoned riverside village, forests of Poland….._

"Looks like you're adjusting well." Were the first words a sleeping Kyra heard, jerking up from her raggedy, eons-old bed, which creaked violently as she came to a sitting position. Already pulling the Shock Pistol she'd stolen off a Winter Dreg out from under the pillow, she aimed it to the source of the noise. As a further precaution, she also pulled her Shock Dagger off a rusted metal box by the bed before even ID'ing the voice.

"Do your kind always wake each other up so abruptly?" Kyra asked, lowering the pistol and knife as she realized it was just Alvara, who was leaning on the decrepit, drab grey metal doorframe to her little shack.

"Well, most of us aren't used to sleeping with one eye open and a gun under our pillow like you are, so usually there's no repercussions to it. Besides, you've got Zulu just a little ways down the trail from here, so what's the worst that could come through?" Alvara reasoned, having picked this village due to its close proximity to Zulu. She filled him in on Kyra's standing and, since Kyra wasn't a Vex, he was willing to run with it.

"True, but you should still be cautious." Kyra warned, not wanting her precarious position to become compromised because she accidentally popped her savior in the face on a bad case of 'Good Morning'. Throwing off the thin flannel blanket and getting out of the rickety, creaking bed, Kyra stretched her back out, no doubt hindered by her choice to sleep in full gear, even the helmet. Holstering the pistol on her thigh and sheathing the knife, Kyra grabbed her Wire Rifle and followed Alvara outside.

"Anyway…I came down to tell you Caldwell's got another Vanguard-ordered job, and since you're technically part of the Fireteam, I was coming by to bring you with. That and I was wondering how our little hack-job project was doing." Alvara explained, referring to their impromptu Servitor-drone they made back on Venus. Sure enough, out from the shack came the very drone in question. It was painted white just like a normal Winter Shank, but the gun was missing, and the center of the front panel had a circular hole cut out in the middle, wherein a purple optical core-looking device akin to the center of a Servitor sat. There were a trio of cables running out from the top of the frontal panel across the top of the Shank and into a small box on the back, but otherwise it was largely the same.

"It's been working surprisingly well. Some of us Fallen were well-versed in how to maintain the Servitors, but I was just a scout and a marksman for the most part, so I'd say for our lack of knowledge on the inner-workings of Servitors, we did pretty good. There isn't too terribly much scrap around here for it to convert into Ether, but so long as we keep collecting matter on our trips for it to break down, I shouldn't have a problem." Kyra answered, watching the drone float around in an aimless wander. It had a very strict set of parameters on how far it could go, which restricted it from leaving the village, but within those confines it had free roam. Looking around at the village, to use the term village was actually a bit tricky, as it was comprised of a few dilapidated concrete buildings, with some smaller wooden shacks braced up with metal frames, no doubt made by prospective survivors of the Collapse once it was over. Whether the Vex or Fallen got them, or if they just decided to move, was eerily unknown. Most of the media within the buildings such as window ads, posters, or signs were all smashed to bits or missing, but that mattered little to Kyra. All she needed was some nice, tall buildings to hide on and watch any unwanted visitors that may pass through, even if the tallest building in this village was a measly 4 floors tall. Surrounding the village was a thick collection of tall trees, almost like the space was carved out of a grand forest, with the largest opening outside the village perimeter being the long river just a few feet away from Kyra's shack.

"Well, I'm not sure how much scrap we'll find where we're going, but at least you'll like the climate." Alvara admitted, her Jumpship having descended to land just at the edge of the river, one of the few places with enough clearance for it in the area. Her interest piqued, Kyra silently made a comically human-like gesture, using her lower hands to make an 'After you' move in the direction of Alvara's Jumpship.

_Later, in the sands of the Sahara desert…_

All 5 Jumpships screeching overhead, they made a swooping pass over the sand, kicking up a formidable wave of obscuring sand that, when it fell, gave way to the five Guardians and one Vandal standing in its place.

"I see why you said I'd like this place…if it weren't for all the sand, I would've requested to have my little hiding place out here instead." Kyra commented, obviously enjoying the scorching hot sun due to her cold-blooded physiology.

"Speaking of the sand, what exactly did the Vanguard think we'd find out here? Because sand is…..all I'm really seeing here." Merikh pointed out, the terrain being even more barren than the sands of Mars. Whereas Mars had dilapidated cities and actively-enforced Cabal bases, out here was nothing _but_ rolling hills of sand in every direction.

"According to some info Ikora refused to go into more depth on, the Hive are in this area doing _something_, and she'd strongly like to know what. She said Eris was preoccupied with something on the Moon, so she looked to us instead. I figured if we drop out here, we can take our Sparrows to the coordinates she gave us, keep ourselves from dropping right on their heads." Caldwell explained, taking the cautious approach since he didn't know what in the world might be out here.

"If she wanted us to find out more, what the hell could she have been holding back on? What she intends to do with the info?" Merikh pointed out, finding Caldwell's wording to be a bit odd.

"Mostly it was just _where _she got reason to believe the Hive are out here at all. I don't know if those myths about the Hidden are true, but if they are, that's probably where she got it from." Caldwell clarified, summoning his Sparrow. The rest of the Fireteam repeating the action, Kyra climbed on the back of Alvara's due to, quite obviously, lacking a Ghost to summon it with or a Jumpship to store a Sparrow in. "According to what she gave me, it's about a quarter-mile North-East from our current position. Just follow your Ghost's waypoints and maybe we'll find something out here."

Knocking up another dust cloud as they sped off, the Sparrows nearly cut a trail into the sand as they went, the Fireteam engaging in another conversation to compensate for the blank, open space they were riding through.

"I'm picking up an anomaly on the local WARSAT maps, looks like some kind of structure. It's not a Ketch, it's not hard-angular like a Vex structure, and it's too big and elaborate to be a Fallen outpost. Whatever it is, either the Cabal have moved in, or we found our Hive activity. If I had to guess, it almost looks like the structure at the entrance to the Hellmouth." Caldwell's Ghost analyzed, pulling images into everyone's HUD views. In one corner was a Hunter's scouting image of the slope-roofed Hellmouth entryway in question, while the other was the sat-feed image of this strange structure. Both seemed to possess a similar sloping roof design, with the top of the slope looking like it possessed an entryway underneath. In contrast, the area closer to the bottom of the slope seemed to almost disappear into the sand, implying it went underground.

"There's too much sand buildup near the base of the slope for them to possibly be building another Hellmouth here, might they be trying to build an underground temple instead?" Merikh's Ghost gave his input, not seeing why the Hive would pick such a spot if they wanted to build what was essentially a giant hole in the floor.

"Either that or they're going to interconnect a network of structures until they have a perimeter that can keep out the sand, _then _create the hole hassle-free." Caldwell's Ghost pointed out, not quite sure either way. Starting to close in on their goal, the large structure came into sight as they cut over the top of a hill, seeming almost monolithic with a tapering, rectangular piece emerging from the top of the slope. Perfectly in line with the entryway, it extended a good 60 feet into the air, glowing Hive runes emblazoned the whole way up.

"Well, there's our confirmation that it's the Hive. Let's stop by the entryway and check it out." Caldwell noted, veering off to stop just off to the side of the temple entrance. The Sparrows all coming to a stop, their riders disembarked as they walked to the entrance. Barrett taking point with his shotgun, the Fireteam came to the eerily wide-open entryway, just waiting for something to leap out. With nothing but the whisping sound of the wind in their ears, things weren't making sense.

"Hey Merikh, looks like your lucky day. I guess all the Hive were out on lun-" Barrett turned around and started to quip at Merikh's expense, being cut off as the large hand of a Cavalier came out, grabbing Barrett's head. A Titan's stoic posture not meaning much against being surprise-hoisted off their feet, Barrett was hurled further into the temple, colliding back-first with a large pillar. Its sandy tan armor indicating it was from an unidentified Sect, the Cavalier's armor was relatively unmodified aside from a drab brown piece of cloth tied around its head, resembling a blindfold. Its eyes still glowing through the blindfold in a manner similar to Eris', the Cavalier notably had full perception of its surroundings. Swinging its gun in a wide-sweeping move to try and deck the other Fireteam members, it was to no avail as they either ducked or backed up. Wielding what looked to be a black jumbo-sized Auto-Rifle with three barrels oriented in a triangle pattern, it was proven to be far from just a super-sized Auto-Rifle as the Cavalier opened fire, hurling foot-long green spikes at them instead of conventional ammo. Pursuing them outside as the Fireteam spread out, the Cavalier primarily aimed for Caldwell.

Using the energy-infused palm strike all Warlocks know to deflect a left-handed straight punch from the Cavalier, Caldwell focused on backing up as he returned fire, the Cavalier oddly enraged despite not suffering serious damage. Taking a grazing round in the shoulder from Merikh's Hand Cannon, the Cavalier turned to face the Hunter only to then get a _second _shoulder-grazing from Kyra's Wire Rifle. Now more intent on shooting than punching, the Cavalier still trudged and stomped through the sand towards Merikh, kicking up splashes of sand as it ran. Actually taking a good portion of Merikh's shields with repeated successful hits, the Cavalier got the wirey toothpick of a man by the neck when it got in range. Probably about to throw him like it did Barrett, Merikh thought he was saved by Alvara as he heard a knife pierce its spine, only to be dropped and see it was Kyra, who was using both upper hands to shove her Shock Knife as deep as it could go. Grabbing the Cavalier's hips with her lower hands to try and hold it in place, Kyra removed the knife and resorted to repeated spine-stabs until the Cavalier regained enough fine motor control to backhand her away.

Getting an idea, Merikh ran at the Cavalier's back, scrambling up the Hive monster before coming to a stop with his feet braced on the Cavalier's hips. Grabbing the blindfold, Merikh yanked it up, the Cavalier immediately howling and dropping its weapon as it moved both hands to cover its eyes. Still covering its eyes with the right hand, the Cavalier tried to take swipes with its left hand at where it thought various members of Komodo were, getting pelted by gunfire in its defenseless state. Taking its right hand away from its eyes to try and see where it was going, the heavily-agitated Cavalier's vision was filled by a familiar sight, the oh-so-not-pleased Titan it had thrown earlier, who was currently aiming his shotgun at its head. Taking the brunt of the blast right between its mouth-guard and the top of its helmet, the Cavalier dropped like a sack of bricks as the body dissipated into dust.

"That was odd, the Cavalier was up in a rage before we even hurt it much…Even worse, I fear I might know what that implies." Carwyn's Ghost noted off-put by the event.

"What, that he rolled out of the wrong side of bed today?" Merikh jabbed, dusting himself off.

"Back before the Hellmouth was properly formed, the Hive tried to make outposts and structures here on Earth. You wouldn't know since we tore them all down after the Hive went dormant, but they did. When they did that, they'd station nothing but Knights, Acolytes, Ogres, and Wizards on the premises, and the Knights and Ogres were usually up in a rage before even taking damage. Almost like a defensive instinct to protect the structure while it's still under-construction. And this wasn't with just any outpost, it only seemed to be the big ones with serious intentions behind them, so I fear the worst for what the Hive intend to do with this place." Carwyn's Ghost elaborated, scanning the Cavalier's gun for later study.

"Well on the bright side, we at least know their eyes don't agree with the sand very well." Alvara pointed out, just waiting for Merikh to make a reply-gag about kicking sand in their faces. Surprisingly, the joke never came.

"If that's a cause for alarm, we'd best investigate further. Let's see how far they gotten with building this place and if we can glean anything on their intentions." Caldwell directed, leading the way back inside the temple. With heavily-concentrated piles of sand in some spots, the Fireteam looked around at the creaking, sand-blasted temple as they descended its grey steps. Splitting up half and half down two parallel staircases, the Fireteam joined back together at the bottom, Carwyn's Ghost materializing itself to examine something strange. The members of the Fireteam following, what they found was Carwyn's Ghost scanning…..a wall of sand.

"Might I ask what it's doing?" Kyra inquired, speaking up from the back of the group in confusion at the spontaneous behavior Carwyn's Ghost was exhibiting.

"Admiring the Hive's ability to pack sand together? Because if they can do that, I'm sure they've made some _pretty _nice sand-castles somewhere." Merikh indirectly jabbed at Carwyn's Ghost, not knowing the serious implications of what said Ghost was finding.

"That's what caught my eye, this sand isn't packed: It's frozen." Carwyn's Ghost explained, the statement seeming somewhat odd as the sand was just sitting in place, it wasn't frozen over.

"Uh…frozen?" Barrett repeated, not following.

"Yes, in time: This sand's orientation and relation to fellow particles within the wall indicates it's a free-flowing region of sand that gravity's trying to act upon, and yet no motion is occurring. It's like the sand is frozen in time, outside our interaction with gravity and the world around us. It's also reeking of dark magic, more complex than what just any normal Wizard would know." Carwyn's Ghost explained, finishing his scan of the wall.

"So we're dealing with a high-profile Wizard here?" Caldwell asked, not liking the sound of it.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say we're dealing with a master, as it seems only just above what normal Wizards typically do. If I had to guess, most likely a master's disciple." Carwyn's Ghost guessed, more or less saying it was only _kinda _bad. Hearing more howling coming from further in the temple, the group looked further on down the open room in front of them, mostly looking for possible ambush points. In addition to the sandswept interior, there were also dark tan banners and flags hanging from pillars around the room. The logo on them resembled a loose, stylized representation of the more advanced Wizards like Ir Yut, only the massive, spiked collar was present on both shoulders instead of just one. In addition, the forearm-braces had a row of four curved blades that pointed back towards the elbow on the back of them, and the skirt possessed an intricate web of Hive runes on it. Positioned in an upright manner with both hands clasped together, the symbol showed this Sect had a lot of emphasis on a very specific Wizard. "Judging by the runes along the bottom, this Sect is called the 'Cult of Xol'…well Merikh, we've finally found your perfect nightmare: Cults and the Hive in one."

"Isn't their whole race basically a cult?" Merikh pointed out, not getting a reply as a sickle-like blade hooked itself around his neck. Reacting fast enough to step backwards before the blade moved, Merikh bumped right into a Marauder, grabbing the Marauder's sickle-wielding hand with his left one. Dropping to a crouch as he tried to turn around, Merikh effectively twisted the Marauder's boney wrist as he aimed his Hand Cannon up, firing at an angle that went under the Marauder's chest-plate. Trying to thrash free of Merikh's grip, the Marauder got a second problem when Carwyn put away his gun, grabbing the Marauder's tail and giving it a hard yank. Underestimating the value of that tail, both Carwyn and Merikh were surprised when the Marauder's head snapped back and moved down, the back splitting open as they realized that the tail was a direct extension of its spinal cord. The spine and head dissolving into dust with the rest of the body, the tail was oddly still together.

"I'll just take a scan of that for later…..for now, we should really think about moving. Whether it be back to the Sparrows or further in, sitting in one place doesn't seem to be working for us." Carwyn's Ghost suggested, Carwyn dropping the tail as they agreed to go further in. Carrying on down the hall, things took a sudden drop as their decision to sprint resulted in them not noticing that the hall, quite literally, had a sudden drop. Proving that the structure was still under development, the Hive's design process was admittedly quite baffling, as they dropped through what was effectively a tunnel of time-frozen sand onto a large mound of more sand in another, seemingly more completed structure.

"Well, at least we proved the building is still under construction…." Kyra pointed out, grimacing right after as she realized she had already adopted Merikh's trait of quips after something bad happens. Everyone getting up, things got massively awkward as they looked in front of them, finding a pair of Cavaliers with Naginatas and about 6 Marauders with those strange tri-barreled Auto-Rifles staring back at them. The whole room going tense, things broke out as the Marauders went from staring to shooting, the Cavaliers also running to engage. The Fireteam scrambling under the Cavaliers' swings, they haphazardly split up across the room, no time to coordinate a plan. Barrett taking a path through a Marauder, the seemingly-threatening Hive creature got to feel Barrett's pain from earlier as he gained a sudden burst of speed, colliding with the Marauder shoulder-first. Reacting adversely, the sudden increase in speed before impact caused the Marauder to go off its feet, its left shoulder crunched into its torso as it collided with a pillar.

Getting back on its feet, the left arm was near-totally useless as it dropped the rifle, using the still-functioning right hand to pull one of those brown sickle-like weapons from its lower back. Knocking around some sand as it swished its boney tail left and right, the Marauder quickly leapt into a sprinting slash, aiming for Barrett's neck. Proving to be more than a dumb ol' decaying corpse, the Marauder used the tail to its advantage, keeping Barrett from making aggressive advances by using the bladed tip to lash at his shins. Making more aggressive slashes aimed at Barrett's neck and midsection, this was interrupted as another sickle-like weapon embedded itself in the region that used to be the Marauder's left shoulder. Being wielded by Kyra, who had stolen it off one of the other Marauders in the room post-re-mortem, her Wire Rifle was on her back as she used both hands to pull back on the blade, not expecting it to just straight-up cut a gash through the Marauder's back. Falling on her back from the unexpected occurrence, her attempt to get back up was followed by dropping back to a flat, laying pose as the Marauder's tail nearly grazed her head.

Turning to face the Fallen, the Marauder was ready to make a trophy carving out of her when Barrett _thought _he was going to blow the Marauder's head off, racking the slide on his shotgun. Pulling the trigger, the click that followed prompted Barrett to act fast, both hands going to the stock as he opted to bat the Marauder in the side of the head with it. Crinking the Marauder's head at a weird angle, its decomposition into dust proved that the unorthodox method still worked. Reloading his shotgun, Barrett was just a second off from killing Kyra when he saw her draw her Wire Rifle, aiming it in the general region of his legs. Firing a round seemingly at Barrett's shins before he could rack the slide, the execution was permanently postponed when he heard a bone-curdling shriek behind him, the scream coming from another Marauder with a shiny new metal rod sticking out of its knee. Having been ready to take Barrett's head off, the only head at threat of coming off was the Marauder's as Barrett swung his elbow back, caving in the front of the monster's head.

"Uh…..thanks." Barrett hesitantly thanked, not having expected a Fallen to help him out. Turning their attention back to the biggest threat in the room, it seemed that the Cavaliers were most focused on trying take Merikh's stature down a few inches, Carwyn stuck wrestling with one of the three remaining Marauders while Caldwell tried desperately to get the Cavaliers' collective attention. Alvara, on the other hand, was preoccupied keeping Carwyn's 1-on-1 from turning into a 3-on-1.

"You attack one, I'll get the other?" Kyra suggested, throwing her Wire Rifle onto her back again before grabbing one of the Marauder Sickles off of the dusty floor.

"Pull this off, and I might rethink my opinion of you." Barrett answered, running in a B-Line towards a Cavalier to Shoulder-Charge it off-balance. Meanwhile, Kyra took the one closer to Merikh, scaling up its back and hooking the sickle into its right shoulder. Also drawing her Shock Knife in her upper left hand, Kyra lodged that in the left side of the Cavalier's neck, almost haphazardly trying to steer the large beast by pulling back on her weapons while they were embedded. Able to exert far more force on the Cavalier than when she tried the same with the Marauder, Kyra's prodding and yanking got the Cavalier's intention, who stopped its determined charge at Merikh to try and pull her off.

"Melik, shoot him!" Kyra yelled, forgetting Merikh's name in her frantic haste to not get manhandled by a giant walking corpse.

"Do I _look _like a faceless dude with a fedora to you?!" Merikh yelled back in frustration at Kyra forgetting his name, drawing his Hand Cannon anyway to fire on the Cavalier. Trying to be careful as to not pop Kyra in the head, Merikh tried to very precisely aim for the eyes, getting the Cavalier once, followed by a round landing at the top edge of its chestplate. Firing a third time, this one grazed the top of Kyra's left shoulder, causing a small yelp as it carved a ridge into her shoulder-pad.

"I'm fine, just keep shooting!" Kyra assured, removing the sickle from the Cavalier's shoulder to then pierce it through the Cavalier's mouth-guard. The handle pointing upwards, the question of if Hive even truly had brains was brought into question as the Cavalier kept going, barely faltering at the curved blade hooked through the center of its head. Hanging onto the Cavalier's chestplate with her lower hands, Kyra pulled back on the sickle's handle, forcing the Cavalier's head to bend back with it. Pulling as hard as she could, the Cavalier's head still stayed intact as Merikh fired more rounds, another hitting the center of its head while the rest either missed or hit the chestplate. About to finally get a good grip on Kyra, the Cavalier was cut off as Merikh put a good round through the Cavalier's throat, the round actually cutting right through and hitting Kyra's chestplate on the other side. Thankfully, the chestplate stopped it dead as the Cavalier crumpled into dust.

With one down, it was just down to the other Cavalier, as two of the Marauders were dead while Alvara was presently pulling her knife down the third Marauder's back in an event that seemed none-too-pleasant for the latter. Proving far more competent than the other Cavalier, this one was presently fending off both Barrett and Caldwell at the same time, making a wide swipe at Barrett before twirling the Naginata over its head, only to bring the end opposite the blade down to the floor in an attempt to hit Caldwell with an upwards flick-like swing. Moving its hands to grab the far-bottom end of its weapon, the Cavalier leapt at Barrett, slamming the Naginata into the floor with a clang before trying to trip its target.

"Hey, Bonesy! Over he-" Merikh started to yell for the Cavalier's attention, being cut off as the Cavalier, simply reacting to sound behind it, twirled its Naginata to thwack Merikh off his feet with the staff portion, sending him careening into the wall. "I thought I got enough of that _crap_ on the Moon….."

With Merikh being very little help this time around, the situation was primarily dealt with by Barrett and Carwyn, Kyra and Caldwell providing fire to distract it while the two Titans moved in. Barrett getting batted over by a swing from the blunt side of the Naginata's bladed end, the Titan still made a dent by firing his shotgun from his sideways-laying position on the floor after landing, the shell's contents finding their way to the Cavalier's ankle. Having a few seconds to get back up while the Cavalier readjusted its footing, Barrett followed it up with another blast aimed at the Cavalier's shoulder, which served as a perfect distraction for Carwyn to then punch the Cavalier right in the lower back. Not punching a hole _through _the Cavalier's back like he'd hoped, Carwyn's punch still sent the Cavalier into a forward fall, the large Hive's frustration rising as it let go of its Naginata. Dropping any form of elegance in combat it had displayed with the Naginata, the Cavalier instead went for an open-palmed lunge at Barrett, both hands free to grab hold of him. Getting one hand around Barrett's neck, the Cavalier ignored all the fire the rest of the Fireteam put on it as it hoisted Barrett off his feet, slamming the large Titan in a chokehold against one of the room's decrepit pillars.

Roaring in Barrett's helmeted face, the Cavalier had an odd jerk as another shotgun blast went off, Barrett having kept both hands firmly on his weapon to point-blank-blast the Cavalier in the stomach. Trying to cling onto whatever form of life it was that Hive had as its stomach began to leak dust, the Cavalier tried to tighten its grip on Barrett, which was all for naught when Merikh hurled a knife into its damaged spine. Most likely fervently wanting to find some incredibly good evidence within this place, Caldwell was oddly cold and silent, already carrying on down the hall even before the Cavalier that held Barrett was done crumbling into ash. The rest of the Fireteam following, Caldwell seemed to stop acknowledging their presence as he looked around, the air almost resonating with frustrated desire to get out of here before someone has another near-death experience. Finding a pair of closed doors, Caldwell put his weapon on his back as he tried to pry them open. Only getting so far, he got some assistance as Barrett and Carwyn caught up, doing the same to help him pry the doors apart. Swinging them open, what they found was both far more than they expected, and a very dangerous situation waiting to happen.

Having not been detected yet, they watched as a Wizard matching the one on the flags of this Sect floated there, conversing with a whisping green mist-figure resembling another Wizard. Caldwell's Ghost appearing, he tried to translate what was being said between the two.

"It's spotty…the Cryptarchs or maybe Eris would know more on the Hive language than I do, but I'm catching a few phrases from the mist-figure. Specifically 'You wear the armor of our Great Mother Xol' and to 'Don't feel you need to strive specifically for the loyalty of those we've entrusted you with leading. Show strength and ruthlessness to any who intrude, and the rest will follow you'. That voice on the other end, it's….oh no. It's Ir Yüt." Caldwell's Ghost translated, panels twisting and flicking as he worked fervently to make sense of the conversation.

"And the one floating right here? If that's not Xol, who is it?" Caldwell asked in a hushed voice, trying to not alert the Wizard.

"None of you are going to like this, especially Merikh…..I got a name matched from archived records of Hive rune-tablets. Pulling it in now." Caldwell's Ghost explained, a name appearing over the other Wizard's head. It read 'Mür Yüt, Xol's Herald'.

"So the opera-singing bitch that was more or less screaming for the Hive under her command to take our heads back on the Moon has a sister?" Merikh generally explained, seeing if he had a good grasp on the situation.

"Actually, according to the same sources I got the name from, that's Ir's daughter. Judging by the conversation, I'd say Ir's sticking her neck out here so Mür can make a good impression on their gods, king, whichever it is that even Wizards like Ir look up to." Caldwell's Ghost clarified, everyone in the group almost able to feel that Merikh just didn't want to know how that worked.

"I've actually got my own theory on that: If you look back to our records on Pre-Traveler mythology, what if the Hive almost have a pantheon like that of the Greeks and their-" Carwyn's Ghost started to suggest, stopping out of confusion when everyone in the group seems deathly focused on something else. Having been looking at Caldwell's Ghost, Carwyn's Ghost turned and saw that they were focused on the threat of Mür turning and seeing them. Ir's apparition having faded out, Mür had floated away from the pedestal Ir's apparition appeared from, only to stop as if something were catching her attention. Her long, lanky fingers seeming even more deadly with the pointed tips her armored gloves gave them, the Wizard's right hand became enveloped in Arc energy as she whirled around, hurling what seemed like a glowing blue orb at them. Impacting right in the center of the group, it flickered and flashed for a few seconds. Getting up and running further into the room, none turned to watch as half of the glowing orb quickly flew up in a straight line before slamming back down in a concussive blast, not unlike a Hobgoblin's Slap Grenade.

Yelling something in the Hive tongue, Mür continued her assault with the normal chain of Arc blasts typical of Wizards as skittering could be heard on the roof, a pair of Marauders having crawled in from Traveler-knows-where for an ambush. One leaping straight down at Barrett, this one bit the dust relatively fast as Barrett met the monster with a shotgun blast. The other one playing it much smarter, it used its clawed hands and feet to skitter along the wall, drawing the group's fire as they tried to flee the room.

"More of the….uhm….big ones! _Really_ big ones!" Kyra called out, not knowing the group's designation for the Cavaliers as two of them carrying a Cleaver in one hand and the Hive's strange black, one-handed spike-throwing SMG in the other barreled in through one of the other doors. Hoping to mostly outrun them, at least until they could be away from Mür, the Fireteam largely kept running forward, which had a wrench thrown in that plan too when an Ogre was seen further ahead. It had a dusty tan carapace, and was dragging a pair of large chains wrapped around its forearms, with a large hook on the end of each chain. In addition, the leg plating seemed forcefully reinforced, no doubt another crude Wizard experiment. Labeled the Hallowed Ogre, the name certainly fit with the glowing Hive runes burned across its body, including the head. Swinging its arms around with the intent to bludgeon and maim them with its chains, the Hallowed Ogre left 'Stuck between a rock and a hard place' as almost an understatement for Komodo's situation.

"Barrett…..I understand you criticize me for playing it safe sometimes, so I hope this is more your taste: Smash into that Ogre, we're going _through it!_" Caldwell yelled, the inflection in his voice reeking of _This is a bad idea, this is __**such **__a bad idea!_. Obliging, Barrett leapt at the Ogre, having put his shotgun away to slam both fists into the floor. The resounding impact from his Fists of Havoc slam knocking the Ogre back a step or two, it culminated as Caldwell leapt up, hurling a Nova Bomb right at the Ogre's head while it was still stumbling back. The unstable reaction of Arc and Void meeting together causing a secondary blast that topped both the previous ones, this one seemed to almost go into he floor more, shaking the infrastructure of the temple around them. The pillars starting to crack, the situation escalated further as a chunk of the ceiling cracked free, crushing one of the Cavaliers before burying the body in a continuing stream of sand falling down through the newfound roof-hole. Right when things seemed to be easing up, the next room they came to, a grand multi-floored room, was filled with more Hive. Following a staircase that led right up to the top, the Fireteam continued to run and shoot as more Cavaliers, these wielding Naginatas, seemed to embed their free hand into the pillars and slide down said pillars to reach them, their fingers emitting an eery screech from doing so.

Getting to the top of the stairs, running became more difficult as they made it back outside, having to stomp over the sand instead of having the Hive's hard constructed surfaces to run on.

"I'd advise against us leaving right here, we don't know how many Tombships they could possibly have in the area. According to local map data, there should be some flat grasslands not too much further in this direction. Lets get out there, hopefully we'll be too far away for the Hive to pursue us." Merikh's Ghost spoke up, prompting everyone to summon their Sparrows. Alvara being the last to take off due to waiting for Kyra to get on, the latter was narrowly missed by a Cavalier's swing, his Cleaver just barely grazing behind Kyra's back as Alvara hit the boost.

_30 minutes later…_

"I'd say that's good enough….though, I'm getting some strange radio frequencies from the area." Merikh's Ghost pointed out, unable to pinpoint the source or even what species was causing it. About to call in their Jumpships, this was stopped when Caldwell noticed they were being watched. Emerging from the large bushes around the area and even de-cloaking, various Fallen Vandals and Captains had appeared, encircling the group. Regardless, Kyra didn't seem tense.

"_Don't shoot_….you can see it in their posture. They're wary of us, but not hostile. Yet, at least. So long as your…Titan I believe it's called? Friend with the shotgun can stay calm, we might not need to fight." Kyra explained, not dropping her Wire Rifle, but at the same time not pointing it back at the Fallen surrounding them. Noticeably, these Fallen wore orange capes, with the Captains having strange markings in orange painted onto their helmets. In addition, some of them had much more minimalistic chest-plates, ranging from just a lack of a fur collar all the way to having their scale, grey-skinned abdomens exposed to the open air. In addition, the bodysuit that was usually present on their arms was gone, instead having just some bicep and forearm plating with gaps of skin visible in-between. "Oh, and Merikh, do watch your mouth in case your Ghost is translating what you say for them. I'm extremely doubtful that any of the female Fallen around here will take as well to being mistaken for a man as I did when we first met."

"Very funny….name _one _lady-Fallen standing around here besides yourself." Merikh challenged, thinking Kyra was just poking fun at him.

"How about that Captain with the Shrapnel Launcher about 10 feet away from you?" Kyra pointed out, Merikh muttering a low _oh_ when he noticed the Captain's exceptionally feminine thighs despite being no shorter or otherwise daintier than any other Captain he's seen.

"Care to explain why all you female Fallen are flat-chested though?" Merikh asked, deciding if he was going to die, might as well die by asking a stupid question.

"We Fallen are reptilians, remember? We don't have the…uhm….." Kyra found herself at a loss for words, resorting to making a hand gesture with her lower hands around her upper chest region.

"Yeah, we get it." Alvara confirmed, giving Merikh a hard bash in the hip for asking the question in the first place. Cutting off their hair-brained discussion about Fallen anatomy, a Captain walked up close, speaking to Kyra. Speaking in their native language due to none of their Ghosts translating it, the two Fallen seemed to converse as if no gun-pointing were involved, the Captain making a wide gesture to Kyra's allies with his lower hands as if to refer to all of them as a group. Continuing to talk, things eventually seemed to calm down, the Captain speaking loud with his upper left hand raised high as if to say _Hold your fire!_

"You actually got them to stay calm?" Caldwell asked, admittedly somewhat impressed.

"They mostly wanted to know why we were here. I told them we were running from the angry daughter of a notorious Hive Wizard and just so happened to stop here, as well as that we didn't even know any Fallen were out here. I gave him my word we'd be passive towards them, so really our situation's quite simple: We follow them to their main camp and don't try to kill any of them, they don't all open fire on us from just about every conceivable angle except above and below us." Kyra explained, putting her Wire Rifle on her back as the rest of the Fireteam hesitantly did the same. "He also said to get back on our vehicles and follow their Pikes, they'll lead the way."

Summoning their Sparrows again, the group followed the Pikes in question for roughly another quarter-mile, coming to what seemed to be a pieced-together settlement the size of a large city. Made of fastened together plates of metal, concrete, just about anything imaginable, the centerpiece was most definitely the large Ketch at the heart of the city, which was looming tall over the rest of the structures. Oddly, it had the House Banners hanging off the sides, the large orange flags having a white symbol that looked like a stylized sun between two open, outstretched hands beneath it. Speeding oddly fast through the makeshift streets, the Fireteam was only doing so keep pace with the Pikes leading them around, the possibly thousands of Fallen they passed not seeming to mind.

"So, what are they leading us here for?" Caldwell wondered, his Ghost having been working away the whole time to ID the House in question. Finally succeeding, he silently informed the entire Fireteam via HUD-popups that they called themselves the House of the Sun.

"They're taking us to meet their Kell. Apparently they feel we can make a peaceful agreement with her."

"_Her?_ Dammit….." Merikh groaned, having to refrain from metaphorically head-desking on his Sparrow mid-drive at just how badly karma seemed to be biting him in the ass.

Author's Note

"Oh, yeah, on this new schedule, updates will totally come faster!"…..who's the dumbass that said that again? Oh, it was me? Not surprised ( e.e).

So, aside from the obligatory apology for how I somehow took what feels like _longer _than the wait for the last chapter (I really wonder how many times I'm going to be apologizing for this crap-ass behavior before the people who read multiple stories of mine just get sick of it, honestly), I hope the content itself makes up for it. I wanted to have a good start for next chapter so that it doesn't take as freakishly long just to get off the ground (And because I figure I was probably bordering the edge of peoples' patience with how long this chapter is), as well as so that, in my personal opinion, I could have more "Space" to fit in descriptions, explanations, and more in-depth looks into the sort of pseudo-lore I've been going with. As some might've noticed, I brought back the ti-barreled Auto Rifle design that was mentioned at the end of chapter 2. I initially canned it in favor of the Necrochasm because I figured that was a Hive-oriented rifle actually seen in-game, but after reading the description of the Fusion Rifle you get from Eris (The name of which is eluding me at this very moment, I'll probably go back in later and replace this sentence with its name), which mentions something about the Hive stealing our secrets. The vibe I got from that is that the Hive effectively reverse-engineered our Fusion Rifles and in turn made that gun, so I brought the AR mentioned above as a sort of continuation of that idea.

Second on my list of points that I wanted to hit is that the Hallowed Ogre is the first of many designs that effectively tries to redesign the "Elite" units from in-game as something more than the exact same unit with a yellow health bar and better stats. This goes for all races, so there'll be redesigned Hallowed Hive of all kinds, redesigned Reaver Fallen, Axis Vex, and Imperial Cabal. Also to note, the Cavaliers, Marauders, Thugs, and Bladepriests are their own separate units, so they are not redesigned Elites. IE, a Hallowed Knight will be different from a Cavalier, and by extension, a Hallowed Cavalier is indeed something that will appear later on at a currently undetermined point. I'm not going to explain what makes a Cavalier different than a Hallowed Knight here since I intend to explain it "In-story" in the very next chapter, so to say it here would just be a waste of a dialogue opportunity and a stupid spoiler.

Another big point I wanted to cover is the joke made when Kyra forgot Merikh's name: It's a callout to one of my other stories, American Monsters, as just a little nod-to joke that some people will get, others won't. Sort of as a subtle reward for people who read multiple stories of mine. That and, admittedly, to try and draw attention to it since, unlike the typical case where a story just doesn't get much attention because it's a small category, or like with this story where it started slow then pretty much blew the fuck up (Seriously, I'm still in a sort of semi-shock at just how ludicrously amazing the amount of attention this story got after chapter 5 was), American Monsters started out with a lot of praise and seemed promising, then just kinda…dropped. There was no complaints about people not liking where the story went, no strong advisories to swerve the tone in a different direction, the closest thing I got to a complaint was someone pointing out I had been spelling a character's name wrong, and yet it just kinda died. No real sign as to why, it just dried up. So, since it's admittedly kinda depressing due to that, along with this and my MGS story, it's one of my most favorite ones to write, I just figured I'd bring it up in a way.

Next on things that really could use some explaining is the large focus near the end on the physical differences between male and female Fallen: I initially was going to have no such explanation, but put it in when one of my friends pointed out I should really give an explanation to avoid _that _trope about female aliens. You know, the one where writers/artists just say "Well…it's got tits, so bam! Female alien!" even in cases of races that are technically reptilian like the Fallen? So I mostly took his suggestion to show that I'm accounting for the anticipated anatomical differences between reptilians and mammals instead of taking an irritatingly broad, 2-D approach to it that's technically scientifically incorrect. More on that point, while this original House has a female Kell, as well as female Fallen in various positions of power being relatively common, I just want to assure that this will not be the standard for original Houses. So, any further original Houses I add or that are suggested that I decide to add will probably just have a male Kell unless otherwise specifically asked in the case of a fan-submitted one. I just wanted to use this House to sort of exemplify how the Fallen culture revolves around what you're willing and able to do rather than what you look like. (Because think about it, would a race of nomadic scavengers really fuss over who's in charge based on looks/gender, or who can genuinely get things done?)

Next, I've actually got a small puzzle that will linger over this story for a while: The song Short Change Hero by The Heavy. I'll say it right now that it's got connections to Caldwell as a character, but anything more than that will only be revealed as this story goes on and we delve into his backstory, including why he's so devoid of emotion at times, frequently has the aura of a cold demeanor tied to him, and why he seemed to riled up in that Hive temple just earlier this chapter. Is it lyrical significance? Just the beat? How does the message if it's lyrical tie into his character? These are all strings I'm going to be pulling one-by-one as this story goes because I'm admittedly quite proud of how well it fits, so I'd hate to just drop the whole thing in one big explanation. I'd rather give it piece by piece and see if I blow anyone else's mind when it comes full circle like I did my own when I came up with it.

Speaking of music, since my admittedly inconsequential mention of how music relates to something in the story last chapter (It was just a comment on elevator music, not a big deal) was noted, I figured I'd see if anybody cares to know that the design, vibe, and overall tone of the Cult of Xol was very strongly influenced by Kan-Ra's theme from the 2013 reboot of Killer Instinct. If you go and listen to RKosmik's "Komplete Dynamic Theme" vid on it on Youtube, one of the most prominent ways this shows through is with his High Combo theme, which runs from 4:50 to 6:15 in the video. To a lesser degree the normal segment, which is from vid-start to 4 minutes in was also an influence, but the aforementioned segment was the biggest contributor. There's more to say on the whole story with how the idea for this Sect came around, but I'm not going to bore anyone's head off with it if nobody's interested.

Finally, if anybody noticed that the fighting took a bit of a dark turn right around when the Marauder basically got Sub-Zero'd by Carwyn, that's because when I was at the beach writing this (My father and I go there, he likes the scenery, I go with just because no internet access = I actually write instead of getting distracted with Youtube and get nothing done), some kid was running around shooting a squirt gun around. Now, while I'm not so grouchy that I'd be angry if _I _got wet, well…..go back up and look for the line right when they pull up to the Temple that reads "The Sparrows all coming to a stop, their riders all disembarked as they walked to the entrance.". If my computer had gotten a bad spritz (It's already an aging piece of crap, and that kid was spraying a lot of water), you would've been getting a chapter that ended right there and a long, furious Author's Note of me ranting about hating kids amidst needing to wait months before I could write _anything _because some kid shorted my computer that has every chapter I've ever written since joining this site, sample scenes to be put in later, and notes about all of my stories, all down the drain like that. Only reason I'd be able to give that much is I emailed what I had up to that point as a WIP for my friend to read over, so I'd have to copy-paste that into a word-editing program on my gaming Desktop and post it from there. While my computer is completely A-OK, just the thought of possibly losing all that due to some 5 year-old I'd only see once in my life admittedly left me in a semi-jilted mood that swayed the tone of the chapter for a bit.


	8. War Rhinos

Chapter 8: War Rhinos

_Hours later, underneath the Sun Ketch Dreviks-Fel_

Whereas most Ketchs had a throne room for their Kell to reside in, the Captain leading Caldwell and Merikh to the Sun Kell had oddly bypassed the Ketch, taking them to a structure that, while its general shape resembled that of a Mayan pyramid, it had many dusty stone rooms and structures on it, resembling more of a bizarrely constructed palace than a solid-cored structure. It was almost like someone had taken a Mayan pyramid, then built rooms and hallways on top of and through it. Heading up a long staircase, the scenery the two Guardians were getting to witness further demonstrated the Fallen ability to meld their own tech with more primitive designs. Trailing down the edges of the stairs and all through the rooms were long power cables, pushed off presumably to be out of harm's way. On the other end of these cables were terminals, generators, weapon charging racks, communication systems, all of a very obviously Fallen design despite being built into the walls in some cases.

"So….this isn't just some really formal execution on account of intruding on your territory, is it?" Merikh inquired, only keeping his hand well away from his weapon because if Caldwell of all people was calm, there must not be any threat of violence to worry about. Still following behind the Captain, the entire Fireteam's Ghosts have since swapped to translating all nearby Fallen voices into English, just in case one suddenly said something of importance.

"As of right now, no, it's not. Whether or not it stays that way depends on your behavior." The Captain warned, glancing back over his shoulder at Merikh as he said it. In doing so, he also batted his cape away to flash one of his sheathed Shock Swords, furthering his point. Before Merikh could give a reply, witty or otherwise, they reached the top of the staircase. Entering a spacious room made of the same tanned stone as the rest of the structure, laid on top of that were some various dark orange carpets made of an unknown material, with one leading straight from the stairs to a throne. The room had a number of vertical, thin-rectangular-like slits letting light into the room, as well as a pair of floor-reaching Sun Flags on either side of the throne. Placed at the direct opposite end of the room, the massive throne was adorned with various plates of dusty tan Hive armor as decoration, including a pair of empty Cavalier helmets as the cap-piece for both armrests. Seated on the throne was a deathly massive Fallen, roughly 20' tall, that was in a slouched reclining position, completely relaxed despite the non-Fallen approaching.

"So, I hear you're here on friendly terms…._and _that you've already got a Fallen friend with you." The Sun Kell opened for the conversation, still not seeming threatened or even hostile. Her armor was a mixed bag of unique traits and those borrowed from previously-seen Fallen, including the Thug's hood/helmet combo. While the general shape of the helmet was the same, instead of a mess of circular optics reminiscent of a mutant spider, the Kell's helmet had 6 optics reminiscent of stretched ovals, which were placed in side-by-side pairs of two up the front of the helmet. Below that, the Kell had the same abdomen-less chestplate, the right pectoral region of it being overlaid with more dusty tan Hive plating while the left, unmodified pectoral region was a faded white color. This trend continued down the arms, with both right arms having the bicep and forearm plating reinforced with tan Hive armor on the back, while both right hands actually had the glove plating of a Cavalier painstakingly attached to the back of her gloves. In contrast, the left side had armor plating no different from a Captain's aside from the lack of a bodysuit underneath. For the lower half, the Kell's pants were an exceptionally faded dark brown color, the armor plating strapped to the front being faded white Fallen armor on the left leg and tan Hive plating on the right. Her footwear resembled sharp, angular boots, with both feet having five bladed ridges running along the top from her ankle to the edge of her toes.

"That's correct. If I might ask, why are you here and not in your Ketch?" Caldwell asked, hoping that demonstrating some knowledge of Fallen habits would make him seem like just a _tiny _bit less of an outsider. Despite that, he still felt like there was very much he didn't know, as while the Kell's skin was dark grey, a few large-bodied Fallen standing around, no doubt Barons and Baronesses appointed to guard her, had a peculiar sun-bleached orangey-tan tone to their skin instead.

"Because it…doesn't work." The Sun Kell admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Technically its power systems still function, we can still use its communications capability, but the engines haven't been responsive for around 200 years, which was when we got here. We had to touch down in this region or risk crashing, and once we'd explored a bit, we found we actually liked it here so much that we left our Ketch as is and began building our city. Not like we have much reason to migrate anyway: We're out of the way, rarely bothered, and can easily sustain ourselves."

"But…..being out of the way is a good thing? The City gets poked and prodded by Fallen at its walls day in and day out sometimes, being this far away from any human settlement would make it a massive stress on fuel to come attack us, right?" Merikh reasoned, still trying to believe all Fallen were anti-human.

"I don't mean to offend you, but personally speaking, I couldn't care less about humans. Now, that's not to say I'm opposed to possibly forming a partnership of some kind with them, I just have no desire to lead my people in a pointless battery against your City. We'd much rather just live in peace than wage a heinous war with little purpose other than misguided anger." The Sun Kell very politely retorted, slowly getting up from her throne. Grabbing the edges of her cape, it was revealed that hers was actually much wider than most, demonstrated as she pulled the edges to hide her entire front like a cloak.

"Wait a minute, so you mean to tell me the Fallen are attacking us because _we _are pushing on _their _attempts at peaceful living?" Merikh tried to translate, chuckling slightly as he said it because it sounded outright preposterous.

"Actually, what she's saying is that, unlike most Fallen, we think humans and Fallen could co-exist rather than needing to exterminate your kind and take the planet for ourselves. We're in the minority on that thought, so don't assume any other House shares our opinion." One of the Kell's Barons pointed out, almost sounding satirical about it.

"Right…..forgot the Fallen are a complex enough race to have conflicting opinions." Merikh mumbled, earning him a strike in the spine from Caldwell that one might think could've severed something if done on a non-Guardian. Looking over at Caldwell with an unseen, agitated glare, Merikh's attention snapped back up front when the Sun Kell had dropped to one knee, getting his attention by bringing her head in close to the two of them.

"As such, I'm not opposed to making a deal with you Guardians. If you agree to not seek hostilities against my House, as well as come to our aid if we need it, you can come and go freely from this city and the nearby area. Just be warned, not only is the Hive trying to push out from the desert, we've also seen the Cabal flying through. While I can guarantee _we _won't attack you, either of those two could very well impede your progress." The Sun Kell warned, unusually diplomatic for a Fallen. Rising back to her feet, the Kell readjusted her cape to conceal her front again before walking off to one of the slit-windows at the room's far left side.

"The Cabal? On Earth? Did you happen to track where they were going?" Caldwell inquired,feeling obligated to at least try and learn more. If the Cabal were even doing fly-bys of Earth, the City needed to know.

"We did. Agree to my proposition,and I'll give you the coordinate data on where those Cabal ships seemed to touch down right away." The Sun Kell offered, deciding that might be an even better hook to pull Caldwell in. Taking a moment to think on it, Caldwell's mind was made up.

"Very well: We agree." Caldwell spoke on behalf of more or less the entire City, hoping the information was good enough to justify his agreement.

"In that case, Drassik: Take our newfound friends and show them where to get the information relating to those Cabal ships we picked up. Also, my name's Raylik, I'd prefer you call me that rather than Sun Kell or anything of the nature." Raylik informed, Drassik evidently being the Captain that led Caldwell and Merikh up here in the first place. Following Drassik back down the stairs, Merikh had his Ghost cut off his helmet's external vocalizer so he could speak to Caldwell without anyone around hearing.

"Look, I'm going to cut past the pleasantries and get right to it: You were having another flashback, weren't you?" Merikh inquired, his cut-off vocalizer meaning what he said was only playing directly into Caldwell's helmet rather than being projected to the world around him as well. Looking back over his shoulder, Drassik could no doubt hear the muffled blubbering of Merikh's voice barely escaping his helmet, but it was too indistinct to make out any words.

"What are you talking about?" Caldwell asked after cutting off his vocalizer too, trying to play stupid. The semi-grudging tone in his voice, however, gave away the fact that Merikh was right on the money.

"You're methodical and patient: Methodical and patient people don't just randomly storm through a creaking under-construction Hive temple like they're sick of being there. Even though you won't tell me exactly what it is, I know you've got a bad history with loss of life, specifically a single incident that I've _caught _you referring to as 'The Incident' in those audio logs you keep recording. I'm not going to force you to spill it here on the steps of a Fallen palace, but whatever it is that's bothering you, don't think you can't tell me. I knew you before anybody else on this team, so if you ever need some help to finally kick this nightmare, _tell me._ I'd sooner join a different Fireteam than go into mysterious Hive ruins with anybody but you leading the way, so I'd hate to see you fade away over a recurring nightmare." Merikh explained, showing a much kinder side that was heavily in contrast to his usual wit and satire. Of course, with what he was about to experience, that wit and satire might be coming back out to play _very _fast.

"Thanks Merikh…while it doesn't exterminate the issue, it definitely makes things easier by hearing that." Caldwell thanked, getting all sentimental as he patted Merikh on the back. Unfortunately, being all sentimental means he incorrectly gauged exactly how much force went into that back-pat, knocking the human toothpick of a Hunter right off his feet. Merikh tumbling forward and right into the back of Drassik's shins, Caldwell was left witnessing the most awkward (And possibly only) Human/Fallen stair-tumble to ever occur.

_Meanwhile, on a sun-soaked rooftop, elsewhere in the Sun City_

"So…did you get the data we sent you on that Hive temple?" Carwyn spoke to his Ghost, whose external plates were frayed out and twirling around a blue orb, its black eye still floating in the center. Still under watch by a Captain with a Shrapnel Launcher, Carwyn was trying to make the best of it while Barrett, Kyra and Alvara just looked out at the landscape in front of them. Despite being in the middle of a grassland area, the roads and paths in the city below were covered in sand, most likely to accumulate and draw even more heat for the cold-blooded Fallen to have. In addition, the city almost seemed to be perpetually under construction, with most of the impromptu shanty-shacks slowly being replaced with the much sturdier bleached-stone buildings over time. In addition, the Ketch that seemed to serve as the center of the city had four massive, long metallic rods coming off of it, two on either side and equidistant from each other. Going from the underside of the Ketch into the ground, the rods almost seemed to keep the Ketch braced and upright, showing that the ship wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"I did…Xol, that's a name I haven't heard in a while." The voice of Eris came from Carwyn's Ghost, who was in his current state due to acting as a transmitter for the call Carwyn and Eris were having. Presently, Eris was somewhere in the Tower, the exact question of where being quite open now that she was working for Ikora. "Xol was many things according to the Hive scrolls and tablets I'd read while on the Moon. Wife to Oryx, creator of the first Ogre, and an unparalleled master in the way of dark magic. Legend also claimed she's the origin point from which all Wizards came, her daughters splintering off into various bloodlines from there. While some bonded more and more with the lower tiers of the Hive race and became less powerful as a result, others restricted their bloodlines to mixing only with the most powerful of the Hive, which gave rise to Wizards like Omnigul and Ir Yüt. Unfortunately, it seems like Ir's daughter Mür is not much different than her mother."

"She didn't seem all that powerful, just some new abilities. Think the fact that the temple's under construction is hindering her?" Carwyn reasoned, assuming that Eris meant Mür already _is _as strong as her mother.

"No, she's got much to learn before she's as powerful as her mother: Even the Hive need to grow in power over the course of their lifetime. That isn't to say she _can't_ become as powerful as Ir, possibly even surpass her if she's wearing the armor of Xol. According to those same tablets, Xol is no longer corporeal, nor is there any desire to bring her back like the Hive might wish to do with Crota. Instead, she's almost equivocal to a Patron Saint to Wizards. Of course, as is common with the Hive, instead of wishing good health or anything of the sort, to say a Wizard has Xol's blessing wishes them benefit in creating better and deadlier abominations, as well as greater power in the way of dark magic. To wear the armor of Xol is believed to immediately grant these benefits to a certain degree, as well as these benefits becoming more and more prominent over time. Mür won't become a massive threat overnight, but it would be best to keep note of her before she becomes too much of a problem" Eris explained, the underlying gravity to how she spoke adding more weight to the thought that Mür was a problem in the making.

"Well, I guess that's a silver lining…Ikora got her copy of the data too?" Carwyn asked, not really having anything else to say on the matter.

"She did, I think she's going to have something else for you to do relatively soon. In the meantime, she's trying to coordinate an assault on the Vault of Glass with the other Vanguards. Interested in volunteering for it?" Eris offered, not having any personal intention of going along.

"That's not really something for me to decide since I'm not the Fireteam leader. I'll run it by Caldwell if we have the time." Carwyn politely declined, the transmission ending soon after as neither one of them had anything more to say. Getting up from his seated position by the doorframe that led to the roof, Carwyn noticed the faint sound of the guarding Captain's comms turning on. Sounding like he was getting orders, the Captain nodded and gave a reply before getting up. Expecting violence, Carwyn waited and warily watched until the Captain threw his Shrapnel Launcher onto his back and left the roof, evidently being told to not guard them anymore. Deciding to ask on it later, Carwyn instead moved to sit down by the rest of his Fireteam.

"These Suns may be a bit nicer than most Fallen, but damn if they've got no respect for their dead. Look at it: They just leave groups of bodies to simmer on the damned roof." Barrett criticized, gesturing to a roof not too far off, which was covered in Fallen that were laying down, completely unmoving. Seeming to have a valid point, this valid point was shattered when another Fallen came onto the roof in question, causing one of the supposedly dead Fallen to raise their head in acknowledgment. Walking over, the Fallen further ruined Barrett's point by dropping their weapon and gently laying down in the same manner, ceasing movement afterwards.

"Yes…..I'd say they're _quite _dead." Kyra jabbed, getting more comfortable with poking fun at the likes of Barrett. Since all of them still had their helmets on, it was impossible to see the irritated glare Barrett was no doubt giving her. To make matters worse, if he had a comeback, it would've been cut off by an incoming call.

"Alright, we've got good news and…_possibly _bad news." Caldwell spoke over the Fireteam comm channel, all four of them finding his slightly brighter tone odd. "Good news is we've struck a deal with Raylik, the Sun Kell: We don't attack any Sun members, they let us come and go through their city and other territory as we please. The possibly bad news is they've seen the Cabal flying through the area. We got them to give us the coordinate data on where these ships were headed, looks like they were going to Germany. So, we're going to Germany to see if the Cabal really are there. The Suns should've gotten an APB of sorts to trust us, so you should be able to get to the edge of the city for your Jumpships pretty easily."

"Sounds good, we'll see you at the northern edge of the city." Carwyn answered, mostly since the four of them were already quite close to the northern edge.

_A few hours later, the ruins of Germany…_

Their Jumpships screeching in fast over the dilapidated city ruins of Germany, the ships tried to be as fast as possible in depositing their cargo to avoid being detected. Almost landing with a bit of forward momentum, the landing was still relatively safe.

"May I ask what the plan is? Because there's simply looking for a Cabal ship and leaving, and then there's trying to thin their presence." Kyra pointed out, curious which of the two they were here to do. Looking around, little did Kyra know the area looked like something just out of a pre-Collapse post-apocalypse story. Everything had withered to a dull shade, the metal corroded heavily with rust while green overgrowth spread up the walls of nearby buildings. Oddly, the edges of the roads below were an almost brown-colored, shattered concrete, while the middle seemed to be overlaid with a synthetic pathway. Being a dark grey in the center with black along the edges, the pathway seemed to be comprised of pre-made segments that were simply dropped in place and interlinked on the spot, which fit the Cabal's approach to making pathways in the field.

"Mostly we're just here to find out if the Cabal are in the area, but if we can make life harder for them too, let's certainly do so." Caldwell answered, not watching where he was going as he walked to find an exit off of the roof they landed on. Stepping on the glass of a skylight, the flimsy, time-worn glass didn't even start to hold his weight as it fractured beneath him. Completely breaking as he pressed his weight down, Caldwell went right through the glass with an awkward yelp, slamming face-down on a long table in the room below. Knocking up a cloud of dust in the process, he was understandably the only one not finding it humorous.

"You alright down there boss?" Barrett called down, stifling a grin as Caldwell let off a low, metallic groan in aggravation. Jumping down to regroup with him, everyone stopped as they could feel the room shaking oh-so-slightly. Seeing the various loose items atop the table beginning to shake, Caldwell went about rolling off the table faster before telling everyone to hit the floor. Humorously enough, since she didn't know what everyone else in the Fireteam was anticipating, Kyra had let go of her Wire Rifle and placed all four hands atop her head as if bracing for falling debris after hitting the floor. Nobody making even the slightest noise, the rumbling intensified as something flew by the row of windows at the room's edge, the sound matching the low hum of a Harvester dropship. The dropship sounding like it had stopped, everyone continued to wait as its various doors could be heard opening, followed by the sound of Cabal conversing. The doors closing again, the Harvester's engine could be heard getting quieter and quieter as it departed. Caldwell getting up first, everyone else followed soon after as he went to the window.

"Stay quiet, they don't know exactly where we are yet…..probably picked up our Jumpships and came here to investigate it." Caldwell warned, everyone trying to discreetly peek out of the windows. Down below, they could see what looked to be an Imperial Centurion giving directions to a squad of 10 Legionaries, as well as a Colossus and some Psions. Oddly, some of the Psions were larger, carrying shotgun-like armaments rather than the normal downsized Slug Rifle. In addition, the Division they belonged to was presently unknown, their armor plating being a dusty tan color while the bodysuit was dark brown. Furthering this mystery, their logo seemed to have an almost V-shape to it, the more fine details of it including eye-like gaps midway up. Obviously having received some upgrades since the last time any of them saw an Imperial Centurion, it showed quite heavily. While the majority of the armor was the same as their normal brethren, the Imperial Centurion now had a small black box attached to its shoulder, opposite its large shoulder-mounted flashlight. Serving an unknown purpose, the black box was accompanied by a set of four silver-colored bands painted onto the Centurion's left forearm, which were equidistant and wrapped the whole way around.

"Best if we get moving, looks like they're sending those Psions into the building we're in." Alvara reminded, still wondering what the larger Psions were supposed to be. Agreeing with the suggestion, Caldwell rose to his feet and gestured for everyone to follow, stepping on a knocked-over wooden door as he left. Finding themselves in a corner-room, they stopped dead as they noticed another of those large Psions carrying a painfully massive rifle, who was perched in a squatting position just outside the window. Obviously watching for movement, the Psion was oblivious to the Fireteam standing just behind it, but only for a short time. Feeling like something was amiss, the large Psion turned its head backwards, jerking slightly in surprise at the new arrivals. Rising to its feet, the Psion used the bottom of its rifle to smash a pane of glass, climbing inside to attack them. Yelling something unknown in the Cabal's native language, the large Psion aimed its rifle at Merikh, who dove for the floor as it fired. Emitting an ear-splittingly loud bang, the rifle fired a single round that hit the wall behind them with a genuine, albeit small, explosion. Blasting out a chunk of the wall, the entirety of Komodo haphazardly fired their guns in their disoriented state, Barrett getting the killing blow with his shotgun.

Half the Fireteam falling over in confusion at the ear-splitting bang, things slowly returned to normal as their collective hearing came back.

"Is it just me…..or was that shit like an anti-materiel rifle?" Merikh pointed out, having gotten on one knee as he tried to get back up, only to slip and fall back down in his continued daze. Thankfully, as none of them were mere, average humans, it just took a little time for the ringing in their ears to die off.

"It certainly sounded like one…..I'll give it that. Bonus points for wrecking the wall too." Barrett agreed, giving the side of his helmet an open-palmed smack right around where his ears would be.

"_What _wall?" Alvara noted, the chunk of wall that was blown out being about 75% of it torn away in a circular hole. Caldwell's Ghost taking a scan of the rifle responsible and the mystery Psion as well, their brief moment was interrupted by two more intruders. Being more of these strange half-Psions, they stood between 6 and 7' tall, with shoulder, hip and leg plating reminiscent of a scaled-down Legionary's gear, while the chestplate looked like a Psion's with some additional armor plates. Stuck to each one's lower back was a large knife sheath, the handle jutting out to the left. In their hands, each one carried what almost looked like a vastly modified Slug Rifle, with a shotgun pump near the front, a sized-down trigger region and guard, and the gun was longer lengthwise rather than height-wise. One racking the slide on their odd shotgun, the other drew its knife in their free hand and lunged for Barrett, the first target in reach. Going for a high swing, the Cabal unit missed when Barrett ducked, only to knock off a good 75% of his shields when it fired its shotgun into his thigh.

His footing almost slipping, Barrett used the opportunity to swing upwards with the bottom of his shotgun, smashing the bottom of the pistol grip on it into the bottom of the mysterious Psion's helmet. Making an upward slash with its knife as this happened, the Cabal unit was able to wing off the last of Barrett's shields before a trio of rounds struck its back. Stumbling forward and spinning around to see what hit it, the unit seemed to forget where Barrett was as it got a shotgun blast in the back. With Merikh and Alvara having double-teamed the other one, Caldwell's Ghost rushed to get scans of these things too before the situation got worse.

"I'd suggest we leave the building before more of these…..things….come in here." Carwyn advised, able to tell without a doubt that these specimens were not average Psions. Looking at their options, it was really either risk running into more of them, or take a dive out the window. Merikh taking the lead, he caught everyone's attention when he climbed out the window, standing on the little edge the first Psion-like Cabal was perched on.

"Looks like there's a small rectangular lake down there…..the road to our right's still intact, but this right here's just caved in pretty deep and filled with water, so maybe we could take a dive and climb onto land behind their backs?" Merikh suggested, not noticing a small red aiming laser begin to point at the wall near him. Another thunderous bang erupting, this was followed by a blast taking out the window frame to his right, shattering multiple panes of glass, and catapulting Merikh into the water.

"Dammit….everybody after him!" Caldwell ordered, not really having a chance to preplan now. Running for the blasted-out window region, the Fireteam dove one by one over the edge, splashing into the murky water each with a loud sound. Already seeing Merikh clambering his way onto land, the Fireteam followed close behind, albeit with some difficulty in the case of the two Titans due to their heavier armor. Everyone getting onto land, they had to hurry as the aiming laser could be seen again, making a large splash in the water as it tried to fire on Carwyn, the furthest back in the group. Scrambling through an open hole where a large pane of glass would be, they seemed to have clambered into an abandoned cafe.

"I hate to rush Caldwell, but has your Ghost y'know…figured out what the hell that tank-killing rifle we're being shot at with is supposed to be?" Merikh half-satirically asked, no doubt mostly because he was the one suddenly hurled from their previous building. Appearing, Caldwell's Ghost seemed to have the answer.

"There's still more I could learn, but what I've gleaned so far is its name and general function: If I'm translating the imprinted labels on the gun, it's called the Sabot Rifle. As for function…well, that's unsettling." Caldwell's Ghost noted, not raising morale at all. "It appears the gun fires a thin metal spear encased inside an explosive charge. Encased around that is a condensed-magma sabot that seems to burst on impact, melting most objects to clear away some armor for the explosive charge. That progressively detonates the charge, taking out whatever the magma-sabot missed, and propelling the spear inside forward for the killing blow on anything lucky enough to make it that far. In short, it's got about three insurance policies that whatever it shoots at will die."

"Lovely…..and the big guys using them?" Merikh further asked, doubting that the answer was as simple as 'Psions on drugs'.

"They're…_Hybrids!_ I never thought the Cabal were advanced enough for genetic engineering…the code is largely that of the Psions, but there appears to be some strands of the large Cabal mixed in. It's almost like they're two totally separate races, and that this is the joining point. No doubt to grant the Psion's ability to fit in smaller spaces mixed with the large Cabal's capability for brute strength. The genes that typically grant Psions with their special powers is also missing, seems like some compromises had to be made. But uhm…more on-point, judging by the armor differences, it seems the one shooting at us presently with the Sabot Rifle is classified as a Ballista." Caldwell's Ghost explained, knowing that he didn't have time to marvel and speculate at the Cabal's evident ventures into genetics. The Cafe's door leading towards the back having been blocked by long-since fallen debris from what used to be the roof, they had no choice but to eliminate this Ballista.

"So, anybody got a plan for this….Ballista?" Barrett asked, thinking distraction tactics might be the best idea.

"If someone can distract it, I should be able to get it." Kyra suggested, shaking her Wire Rifle to try and get out any of the excess water. Thankfully Fallen guns were designed with getting wet in mind, but all the smart designs in the world wouldn't help it fire if a small fishbowl's worth of water were lingering inside it. "Perhaps you should just poke your head out a bit first so I can see where the laser is coming from."

Carwyn opting to be the distraction, he started small by simply poking an open-handed right arm out of the cafe, waving it up and down as if calling for the Ballista's attention. Not doing anything, Carwyn then stepped up to sticking his head out, which almost immediately got the Ballista's attention. The aiming laser coming on, Carwyn quickly jerked his head back in as the Ballista's round fired, whiffing the edge of the concrete shore and blasting apart some of it. Having an idea on where to shoot now, Kyra waited for Carwyn to pop back out again, doing so herself afterwards to look for the Ballista. Seeing it perched on a rooftop corner, Kyra took the shot, her headshot turning into a severe shoulder-wound as the Ballista turned to aim on her. Taken out of commission regardless, they just had to move fast before the Ballista called for backup with its still-working arm.

"Alright, he's down. Everybody, out on the street and go left. We at least need to see if we can find an established base and not just some patrols." Caldwell directed, everyone up and out the door as they tried to beat any possible backup. Unfortunately for them, the Imperial Centurion and Legionaries they saw earlier heard the commotion and decided to wait, opening fire on Komodo's collective backs as they exited. Having started firing when the Fireteam was already a good 15 feet down the street, the group decided to scramble for cover behind rusted cars and cracked-open trenches at the edges of the road. The Cabal now resorting to their traditional advance, it was spiced up with the reveal of what the Centurion's black box was. Kneeling, the Centurion turned its shoulder with the box to face the Guardians, followed by the box being catapulted onto the floor. A tripod of metal legs emerging as the box was raised up, more of the plating then unfolded as four free-floating barrels in an arrowhead formation, almost reminiscent of an AA gun, slid out from its front. Not possessing much armor on the front, it made up for this with its near-immediate target acquisition, firing all four barrels in a rhythmic pattern at the Fireteam.

"Any idea why the Cabal on _Mars _didn't get any of this stuff?!" Alvara pointed out, shrinking down as one of the rounds grazed over the hood of the car she hid behind. Thankfully the Centurion's need to arc his Projection Rife shots made his aim as poor as ever, leveling the playing field even just a bit. With a number of Legionaries backing up the turret's fire, the Fireteam had to resort to beating them at their own game.

"I _would _say for the sake of playing fair, but we both know the Cabal don't care about fair play." Barrett answered, not really having a good answer as he hefted his bullet-hose on an LMG into position. Being situated in a crack in the ground that ran about 6' down at its deepest point alongside Merikh and Kyra, Barrett stood on a small concrete chunk and let rounds fly downrange. Giving suppressing fire that was good enough for the Legionaries to take note, Barrett provided a distraction while Merikh pulled out his sniper, joining Kyra in a game of pop-goes-the-pressurized-helmet. Two Legionaries dropping quite quick, the rest began to count the Guardians as a more credible threat as they concentrated fire on the trench. Evidently not wanting to be outdone though, another Harvester pulled overhead, oddly at a much higher altitude.

"The hell? They're opening their doors about three times as high up as usual." Carwyn noted, taking a brief break from firing to observe the oddity. Not descending, the Harvester instead floated in place as a group of more Cabal Hybrids leapt out, seemingly having a deathwish. Freefalling over the open ground between the buildings, their momentum was managed as each one spread their arms and legs wide, a thin, nano-patterned webbing appearing between their limbs. Now gliding to the ground, they took an aggressive turn as they glided right for Komodo's location, some touching down into a combat roll while others swung their limbs tightly together, doing a frontflip not far above the ground in order to land. Armed with more of those strange shotguns and large knives, Caldwell's Ghost updated everyone's HUDs with the unit's name silently instead of providing exposition on it: Decurio.

"Ah, what the…screw you too Mother Nature….." Merikh grumbled, not even needing a scientific analysis and Ghost scan to notice the two bumps on one Decurio's chestplate. Unfortunately, the way he noticed this was that said Decurio touched down along with three others not 5 feet from the trench he was in. Being his (un)lucky day, the female Decurio just so happened to aim for him while the other three went for Kyra and Barrett. Pulling the large, serrated dagger from her lower back, the Decurio sprinted on a B-line for him, ending in a slide not unlike the one some Guardians did as she got to the edge of Merikh's trench. Sliding over the edge and into the trench, the Decurio did it almost like a trained maneuver as she caught Merikh's torso with her legs, making him fall back. Landing in a way that the Decurio was effectively sitting on his chest, Merikh had to think quick as the Decurio raised her ceremonial dagger high, just about to decorate the front of Merikh's helmet with it. Jerking his head just out of the way as the Decurio brought the knife down, his first thought was to try and wrench the knife from her hand. Grabbing the Decurio's dagger-wielding hand with both of his, Merikh actually rolled onto his left side while still stuck under the Decurio as he vainly tried to pry the Cabal unit's fingers apart. "The fuck kind of an iron grip do you _have?!_"

"Oh, right…..forgot to mention: In my scans of those two dead Decurios in the corner-room, I found their gear includes magnetic gloves controlled by a neural implant along their spine. You're probably never getting hold of that dagger unless she's dead first." Caldwell's Ghost piped in with some information that would've been _very _good to know 30 seconds ago, Merikh resorting to rolling onto his back again before grabbing the Decurio's left shin, flipping her off of him. Scrambling onto his feet, Merikh didn't quite think he'd have time to draw his Hand Cannon, instead going for the no-transmat-required knife on his belt. Holding it upside down, Merikh got into a slightly forward-hunched ready stance as the Decurio also got up, doing the same thing. Making the first move, the Decurio was aggressive while also not acting blind, making a low jabbing kick at Merikh's shin with her foot. Missing as Merikh stepped back, the Decurio followed it up with swinging a right hook, her upside-down-held blade grazing Merikh's chestplate as he stepped back again.

Swinging her arm back across, this was when Merikh moved in, ducking and running to wrap his arms around the Decurio's abdomen. Raising himself back up enough to keep the Decurio's right arm jammed to the left, Merikh tried to hold onto the Decurio's back with his left hand while stabbing his knife into her back with the right, the blade sadly skidding and sliding left and right. Finding the armor plating was too thick on a Decurio's back for haphazard stab attempts, Merikh was about to change tactics when the Decurio fell backwards, tucking her legs in. Taking Merikh with him due to his borderline hugging of the Decurio, the Hunter was whimsically flipped as the Decurio fell onto her back, having gotten her right foot onto Merikh's stomach on the way down before kicking him over her.

Landing with a flop, Merikh wasn't as swift in getting up this time as the Decurio quickly rolled onto her hands and knees, then to a standing position, before running up to Merikh and clocking him with a kick to the side of the head. Reaching down and grabbing Merikh by the neck, the Decurio effectively hoisted him to his feet before kneeing him in the stomach, finishing with what was at least planned to be a stab right through Merikh's spine. Still keeled forward from getting kneed, Merikh stumbled forward with his knife without properly standing back up. Almost falling at the Decurio, Merikh kept himself up by grabbing the Decurio's shoulder with his left hand before slamming his knife into the exposed left side of said Hybrid's torso, not too far under the arm. The sharp burst of pain making the Decurio stop her attempted stab, this was the turning point as Merikh withdrew his knife before slamming it in again further up. Having aimed for the gap between the Decurio's neck and her chestplate's collarbone-plating, Merikh got the Decurio in a state of stunned lock-up, unable to fight back as he transmatted out his Hand Cannon, firing a round through the front of the Decurio's helmet. Reclaiming his knife, Merikh finally had a free moment to acknowledge how the other two were doing.

Having gotten lucky with just one assailant, Kyra was currently wrestling for control of the Decurio's shotgun, the result of which being it flipping out of both his and Kyra's hands. Drawing his knife, this Decurio aimed to pierce it through the top of Kyra's helmet, only for the ex-Devil to catch both his arms with her upper ones. Having an extra pair of hands to go around, Kyra went on the offensive, clenching her lower hands into fists before repeatedly punching the Decurio in the stomach. Her upper hands still holding his arms at bay, this didn't last long as the Decurio wrenched his left hand free, using it to grab and twist Kyra's upper left hand. Kneeling slightly and letting out an indistinct roar much like the ones enemy Fallen would emit at Guardians, Kyra had a gruesomely strong retaliation. Pulling the Shock Dagger from her belt and holding it upside down, Kyra swung it in an arc across the Decurio's stomach, the high setting it was put on melting through the Decurio's abdominal plating. Also grazing the edge of the Decurio's stomach behind said armor, Kyra's knife swing was followed up by stabbing it through the side of the Decurio's helmet. Dead on impact, the Decurio limply fell over once Kyra removed her dagger, leaving just the two that Barrett was fighting.

Much like Merikh, Barrett was left in a position where going for his preferred firearm would leave him too vulnerable, instead having to fight hand-to-hand. Currently having one Decurio in a headlock under his right arm, Barrett was mostly trying to just deflect the other Decurio's knife swings as best as possible. Batting the attacking Decurio's swinging arm away every time he got in close, Barrett eventually turned and let go of the headlocked Decurio, slinging him into his ally. Thrown off-balance by it, the still-standing Decurio wasn't for long as Barrett ran right for him, delivering a right straight punch that actually fractured the lights on the Decurio's helmet. Being effectively blinded from having his helmet's optical sensors smashed in, the Decurio was picked off by Merikh, the other one being taken out from his position on the ground by Barrett kicking his head. Looking back to the edge of their trench, the situation was much more alarming now as a trio of Phalanxes had been dropped in, which were presently almost to their trench. Behind that was an additional 10 Legionaries on top of what was there before, and even a pair of Colossi near the back.

"That's uh…a _little _bit more than I was expecting. Anybody got a plan?" Barrett asked with a twinge of nervousness in his voice, far from sure about what kind of a plan of attack could be used. Hearing the sound of metal being roughly pulled out of place to his right, Barrett turned to see Kyra had started pulling on a disconnected chunk of metal wedged in such a way that it was blocking access to a small tunnel. Wrenching it free, it seemed big enough for someone to fit, and was probably a better option than hightailing it down the street in a serpentine pattern and hoping for the best. "Alright, anybody up for a trek through the sewers?"

"Yeah, totally. I just _love _the sewers, friggin' _love 'em,_ so let's _get the hell moving!_" Merikh answered in a frantic mix of panic and sarcasm as the Phalanxes moved to the sides of the road, letting the two Colossi open fire. The rest of the Fireteam running to join them in the trench, everyone piled in one by one, crawling down into the underground sewer system. Landing on a concrete pathway at the tunnel's edge, every member moved off to the side in order to make room for the rest of them.

"Alright, just give me a minute, should have the tunnels mapped…." Merikh's Ghost appeared, his panels fraying out as he emitted a periodic pulse of blue energy to try and map the local sewer tunnels.

_Meanwhile, out in the wilds of Old Russia…_

Wandering through Old Russia, Riksis was merely passing through on one of his usual hunting trips, not expecting to find much more than the typical wildlife of the region. Unfortunately, he found much more than that.

"I know you're there, Nassik." Riksis sighed in annoyance, not having the most pleasant relations with the Kell's son. Turning around to see said Baron's trademark spiked shoulderpad, RIksis could see the Baron had backup as well.

"We need to talk: The Kell has suspicions that an acquaintance of yours, Kyva, didn't die at the Kings Factory. This would be good news if we didn't also suspect she's turned sides and is now working with the Guardians." Nassik explained, Riksis able to tell quite clearly that Nassik wasn't happy about Kyva's survival.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Riksis questioned, loathing any time he had to spend speaking to Nassik. If Nassik didn't have a couple eyewitnesses as backup, Riksis would probably just flay the slimy Baron right now with his Shrapnel Launcher and say the Kings did it in a bold raid.

"The Kell wants you to deal with it. We found a possible location where she's staying elsewhere on the planet, over near Winter territory. Go there, kill her, and bring back evidence of her death. Otherwise, it'll be _your _head the Kell wants." Nassik threatened, the Kell being the only factor that was making Riksis listen. Letting off a deep sigh, Riksis closed his eyes before giving his response.

"Very well, I'll see to it that she dies." Riksis answered, his real intentions not being so savory to the Kell's interests.

Post-Chapter Note

Now, the very first thing I want to say is to not freak out too much about the end of this chapter. It doesn't necessarily mean Riksis or Kyra are going to die or anything bad's going to happen, and the question of what _is _going to happen will be resolved at the end of the next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, that's another thing: This chapter and the next are a sort of two-parter, because I'm not going to finally debut the Cabal and then just have one small trench-shootout followed by everybody going home safe and sound in the offscreen gap between this chapter and the events of the next one, so the next chapter will continue right about where this one left off with them in the sewers and go from there. I may be bad about update frequency, but I'm certainly not going to be bad about cutting out possibly good material too. Besides, the Earth Crashers Division I mentioned still has yet to appear, so I'd strongly rather show them off while the Cabal are in the immediate focus rather than whenever I come back to them later. Speaking of, they are _not _the tan and brown Division you saw here, that's the Bone Crushers, a second one that's supposedly detailed in the strategy guide. Since I don't own said guide, if their colors are detailed in there, then I apologize for the inconsistency. (And also for any damage to your forehead from possible facepalming if you realize why I chose tan and brown of all colors due to their name). Also, about the Centurions, the reason why I chose a deployable turret of all things for the Imperial Centurion is because I recall reading somewhere that a description of the Centurion claimed they had "Deployable Munitions" they could use. Either it was referring to their Projection Rifles and was a _massively _poor choice of words, or it's something that got cut. Oh, and about the dialogue with Riksis and Nassik, I decided to axe the whole trying to write in a fictional language and just translating it thing because, thinking back on previous times I'd done that, I got the feeling I'm just making a colossal ass out of myself. So, unless a proper Fallen language created by somebody who actually knows a thing or two about creating fictional languages gets released, I'm just sticking with English for their dialogue from here.

Further on the Cabal, was this a good intro for them? I'll admit I kinda got this hyped vibe like everyone was expecting something awesome for the Cabal since they took so long to appear, so I wanted to make sure I didn't disappoint. That and, just to clarify, I _do _have a long history explanation for the Cabal within this story that explains why these seemingly two separate species are working as one unified system, I just didn't want to drop that on everyone's heads with their debut. It'll honestly probably come with the previously-sorta-announced Cabal character I have planned, since it would be more feasible for an actual Cabal to effectively just drop a history lesson on the Fireteam's heads rather than someone's Ghost conveniently coming across a goldmine of a terminal that just explains everything going way back to the beginning of the Cabal. I would hardly be able to write the latter situation without almost hearing the CinemaSins guy going "Convenient know-all history terminal is convenient! And for some reason in a Cabal military base." followed by the +1 ding on the Sin counter.

Moving on though, I wanted to save talking about inspirations for how I'm depicting the Cabal for last so that anybody who couldn't give less of a crap can just stop here and move on with their day instead of needing to skim through it in-case there's anything more relevant to their interests below it: Since I was thinking more on what we'd been told pre-release about the Cabal and less about what we witness in-game (Mostly since that's what this story's trying to do with all this original content: Be more like what we thought Destiny would be and less like what it actually is), most of inspiration for the mindset to use when writing the Cabal portion of this chapter (And thinking on things for future chapters) was songs like Hell March 2 and 3 by Frank Klepacki, Total Annihilation by Cliff Lin, and the instrumental version of Mein Teil by Rammstein. Rammstein's song Feuer Frei also came up particularly in thinking about events within ruined Germany, especially once a Fallen House moves in (Not spoiling which one) and we get into things more involving revitalized smelteries and other factory lines, might even have some manufacturing plant-like locales in ruined Germany for the Cabal too.


	9. Earth Crashed

Chapter 9: Earth Crashed

_30 minutes later….._

"Hey Kyra, you doing alright? Not feeling too lightheaded?" Barrett asked, oddly caring for Kyra's wellbeing given his attempt to kill her when they first met. Still going through the sewers as Merikh's Ghost looked for a good way out, the 5 Guardians had nothing to worry about from the fumes due to their helmets. Despite that, whether or not Kyra was just as fine seemed to be worth asking to him.

"Thankfully, I'm fine. A Vandal's helmet has small filtration systems that funnel out the stench in places like this, so as long as my helmet stays on, I have nothing to worry about." Kyra explained, her Wire Rifle casually pointed down towards the floor as they walked. Despite technically being in enemy territory, Wire Rifles weren't exactly short-barreled DMRs, so to actively wave her gun around checking for threats while she's at the back of the group would mean bumping her allies in the neck with it. The sewers being surprisingly unpopulated despite the Cabal's attempts to fortify Germany, their short time down here was going to come to a close as Merikh's Ghost found what seemed to be a suitable route out.

"Alright, good news and bad news: Good news is this manhole cover should take us up to the surface. Bad news is I don't know _where _on the surface. We could pop up on a road or in the middle of a Cabal firebase, let's just hope it's not under a Goliath's foot. Any volunteers for checking where we are?" Merikh's Ghost explained, looking back at the group for anyone daring enough to pop their head up. The fact that this scouting would become a game of Whack-a-Guardian or Vandal if it's within a Cabal firebase wasn't exactly garnering speedy volunteers, though one eventually spoke up.

"I'll do it, I've got experience in trying to observe without drawing attention." Kyra volunteered, passing her Wire Rifle to Caldwell so that it didn't bump the bottom of the cover. Climbing the basic metal ladder leading up to the cover, Kyra gently popped the lid up, largely keeping it up with the top of her head as she checked their surroundings. Seeming bright yet indoors, Kyra couldn't quite make out where they were until a large, tan and brown foot stomped into the floor in front of her. Startled by the surprise appendage, Kyra's grip on the ladder slipped as she let off a small yelp, falling back down the length of the ladder and landing on Merikh. "Well then…..there's _something _up there. Looked big enough to be the Cabal, that's for sure."

Rolling off of Merikh and getting her Wire Rifle back, Kyra was gently nudged off to the side as Barrett took point, getting an idea. Climbing the ladder one-handed with his left hand while wielding his shotgun in his right, Barrett pushed the manhole cover up slightly before gently sliding his shotgun out through the gap, seeing the foot in question.

"_Surprise motherfucker…_." Barrett chuckled, firing his shotgun at the tan and brown foot. Eliciting a muffled yell trademark of a large Cabal, Barrett took the offensive before pulling himself up fast to knock the manhole cover backwards and completely off as he clambered out. The foot evidently belonging to a Legionary, his helmet was soon the next to go as a followup blast popped it right off. Looking back down through the hole, Barrett made a waving gesture to signal everyone to come up. Going up one by one, the entire Fireteam had just enough time to clamber out of the hole before they realized where they were.

"Hey Ghost, remember what you said about where that manhole might lead us?" Merikh asked, the evidence pointing quite obviously to their location being within a Cabal structure. It wasn't massive, and for the most part looked like the Cabal were more fortifying the buildings around them rather than erecting something new like on Mars, but it was still _very _bad. Looking around at their surroundings, the specific building they were in seemed to be more of an ammo storage facility than a barracks or command post, marked by the stacks upon stacks of crates laying around and relatively minor enemy presence. Fittingly, the original building it was made from seemed to be an old, abandoned warehouse, leaving quite a bit of open space for the Cabal to build their storage racks, ramps, and exit doors into the structure. As for the light, that was thanks to a roof comprised of four rows of skylights stretching from front to back across the warehouse roof, small strips of solid roofing in-between being there only to help keep the glass up.

"I'm aware….on the bright side, I've deduced the Division in charge here: Seems they're called the Bone Crushers. There's also a second Division banner hanging up in here called the Earth Crashers, though I don't think I want to know what they do…" Merikh's Ghost translated off the Cabal Division flags, the second one being bright green with a trio of white symbols on it, almost like a mantra in the Cabal language. Looking around for any more Cabal while Caldwell's Ghost took radial scans of the structure to report to the Vanguard, things took an odd turn when they could hear what sounded like a Cabal door at the far end of the structure opening, followed by a round of gunfire from a Suros Regime rifle. Actually seeing a bursted Legionary's helmet go flying up over the rows of boxes, this prompted Alvara and Caldwell to take point, not knowing of any other Guardians that should be in the area. Getting close, their attempt to round the corner was halted by a Psion careening through the air past them, smashing back-first into a row of crates. The force of the impact shaking the stack, the top-most crate tipped over and landed on the dazed Psion, crushing him and dumping belts of Heavy Slug Repeater ammo on the floor. Jerking around the corner with her Auto-Rifle raised and expecting to find one of that engineer's Pseudo-Vex creations, Alvara's day took a turn for the massively bizarre when it was actually her older sister, the Titan Sivala.

"Alvara? The hell are you doing here?" Sivala asked, lowering her Suros rifle in confusion. Unlike Alvara's relatively matched-up set of armor, Sivala had a mish-mashed compilation of armor consisting of Holdfast Type 1 arms, the Commando Type 0 chestplate, Spearhead Type 0 leg armor, and a Firebreak Type 3 helmet. To top it off, her armor was dyed in a nonstandard white and orange color set, matched by her equally un-subtle Deep Stone Crypt mark.

"Best if I ask you the same thing: We were here following up on some intel that the Cabal were on Earth. What brought _you _here?" Alvara countered, the rest of the Fireteam coming around the corner soon after. Despite not actually doing anything threatening, Alvara could tell quite quick that Sivala's finger went back on the trigger when Kyra rounded the corner. Taking a tenser stance, Sivala thankfully still kept her rifle lowered.

"Ikora Rey put out a notice for all Guardians about possible Cabal activity in Germany, wouldn't say where she got reason to believe it from. I decided to follow up on it, and here I am. I take it she got the info from you?" Sivala speculated, her worry seeming to go away slightly as she noticed Kyra was quite obviously not hostile. As much as nobody liked to admit it, Ikora was secretive and uncaring of City-wide stigma regarding where to get info. If a traitorous Fallen wanted to betray their House's secrets to her, she's all ears, even if it means not telling her fellow Vanguards where the info came from later.

"Good ol' Ikora, using context and a careful choice of words to get info that came from a friendly Fallen House on an All-Guardians bulletin. Kind of a shame she needs to be so secretive, but then again, she'd look no less crazy than we do for taking on a Fallen teammate." Merikh noted, seeming slightly uncomfortable about seeing Sivala again. Unfortunately for him, Barrett picked up on this quite fast.

"Hey Merikh, I take it you've seen her before?" Barrett pointed out, having never seen Sivala before in his life. Sagging his shoulders slightly, Merikh had an unseen glare as he looked at Barrett that reeked of contempt for the Titan.

"Yeah, believe it or not, despite her height, she's Alvara's older sister, oldest out of the two of them and one other sibling. I've met her a few times in the past….some meetings less pleasant than others." Merikh half-mumbled, not wanting to say too much. True to his statement, whereas Alvara was a moderately notable 5'11", Sivala was strangely a tiny 5'6", making her even shorter than Barrett or Carwyn. Despite her unconventional stature for a Titan, a reputation garnered from _many _CQC encounters with the Cabal that have developed into what could almost be described as a love for fighting them up close has kept her height a largely-ignored fact.

"Yeah, and some meetings having more alcohol involved than others. Personally, I'd say meeting me in the field means you lucked out." Sivala jabbed at the tall Hunter, evidently knowing something Merikh would rather have stay between the two of them. About to make a reply, Merikh's shot at defending his dignity was cut short as more thumping could be heard outside, the flimsy walls doing nothing to muffle the footsteps of more incoming Cabal. Everyone looking to the door Sivala came from, the ones closest to the door began to back up as they planned for a confrontation. Having survived this long on looking for good vantage and ambush points, Kyra already had an idea to pitch.

"It seems like there's some good cover and places to hide further back in this building, I'd suggest we go there rather than sit here at the door for them." Kyra advised, already taking small steps back as she looked at her allies.

"I'm with the Fallen on this one. If they're responding to an alarm trip, that's not going to be a tiny squad coming through that door." Sivala agreed, the entire group turning and running back into the depths of the warehouse. While some of them like Kyra, Caldwell and Merikh took to the high ground at the warehouse's far back corners, others like Barrett, Alvara and Carwyn hid on the ground floor, ready and waiting to ambush the inbound Cabal. Seeing the Bone Crusher Cabal storming in through the front door, the Cabal demonstrated their capability for genuine military tactics as, instead of letting the front door turn into a death funnel, they forced the Guardians to split their fire between that and a group of Decurios breaking in through the skylight. Activating their wingsuits immediately after breaking the glass, the group of Hybrids spread out across the warehouse to try and hit all their targets. Two of them aiming for Sivala and Merikh's raised position, one didn't make it as a thin metal wire went in one ear and out the other, being dropped mid-air by Kyra's Wire Rifle. The other one landing on a crate just in front of Sivala, this one was a second off from making Sivala a head shorter before the Titan grabbed the barrel end of his shotgun. The Decurio doing the same with Sivala's Suros rifle, the two were stuck in an awkward standoff before the Decurio accidentally set too much of his weight backwards, both combatants' strong desire to hold their weapons taking them both over with the crate.

Landing with a hard crash on the silver grated flooring of the Cabal's massive storage shelves, Sivala was the first up as she got to her feet, slamming the stock of her rifle against the side of the Decurio's head. Forcing the dazed Hybrid to fall on his back, Sivala pressed her boot down on his upper chest in preparation to put two rounds through his head before the Decurio, having regained his senses, grabbed Sivala's shin and pulled as hard as he could. Pulling the Titan off her feet, the Decurio didn't anticipate where she was as Sivala's fall effectively turned into an accidental elbow-drop on the Decurio's midsection, even an accidental fall for a Titan having some serious weight behind it. Throwing a left straight at the Decurio's head, Sivala proved to have much more experience at this than Komodo did back in the trench, using the time that punch bought her to rise to her knees and execute the Decurio with a few point-blank Suros rounds.

Meanwhile Kyra, finding sniping the Cabal in an enclosed space with quite a bit of vertical cover to be harder than anticipated, decided against her better judgment and threw her Wire Rifle on her back. Grabbing her nearly-unused SMG, the ex-Devil found a ramp down to the lower regions of the warehouse, coming up behind a small predicament Carwyn was having. Her desire to use her SMG lasting a whole five seconds, Kyra almost immediately put it back before drawing her Shock Knife, old cutthroat habits dying hard as she leapt at a Centurion's back. Having been pinning Carwyn down alongside a pair of Legionaries, the Centurion was oddly armed with a Slug Rifle instead of the usual Projection Rifle. Immediately noticing the foreign presence on his back, the Centurion shook his shoulders around, launching Kyra off as quickly as she arrived. Landing in-between the Cabal and Carwyn, Kyra's plan was still on an upswing, albeit with a small change. Tossing her knife into the air and catching at as if to taunt the Cabal, Kyra quickly ducked out through one of the aisles of high-stacked crates while keeping eye contact with the Centurion, prompting him to give chase. Barreling around the corner, the Centurion charged in with a throaty roar as he slammed his Slug Rifle against the floor, expecting to smash a Vandal with it. Instead only striking the floor, the Centurion stopped and looked left and right, not liking the Vandal's disappearance. Turning slightly to go down the aisle to his left, the Centurion barely got the chance as Kyra leapt from the Centurion's blind spot on his right, her Shock Dagger set on high as she sheared half of the Centurion's right back-fin off. Her leaping swing causing her to tumble over the front of the Centurion, then get punted by said Centurion in a surprised reaction, the end result had Kyra tumbling and rolling down the dusty, concrete aisle to the Centurion's left.

Landing face-down and pointing towards the Centurion, Kyra planned to invert their locations as she got back up, said plan going in the can when the Centurion decided to fire instead of do another enraged charge. Having to speedily turn and run to the end of the aisle, Kyra took a round to the back as she rounded the corner, the seismic blast of the round's multiple explosive design features causing her to slow down for a moment. Not really having a moment to spare, Kyra looked to the top of the aisle, the height not being impossible for her to climb. Scaling the stacks of crates, Kyra laid flat as she tried to calm her breathing, watching the Centurion slowly trudge down the aisle. Patiently checking his corners, the Centurion was anticipating every angle but up as Kyra dropped down, slamming her Shock Dagger into the Centurion's forehead. Unfortunately, as the Centurion's helmet wasn't as form-fitting as that of a Legionary or Phalanx, the worst it did was give the Centurion a pretty little horn extension to the top curve of his helmet, not kill him. Losing the grip on her knife during her fall, Kyra found herself back at square one and needing to think fast. Noticing that the Centurion's Slug Rifle had a small rectangular segment that was seemingly not part of the rest of the gun, she went out on a hunch.

Recognizing its similarity to the magazines Guardian weapons used, Kyra reached out and grabbed the rectangular object while the Centurion adjusted to his new helmet-knife, pulling the mag down and out of the gun. Now left holding a magazine nearly a third larger than her forearm in all four hands, the standoff took an awkward pause as the Centurion looked at his gun, realizing he only had the chambered round left. Looking to reclaim his mag, the Centurion stepped forward and tried to grab hold of Kyra, the Vandal dropping the Centurion's mag and jumping at him.

"These Guardians are infectious….only a few missions and I'm already foolishly jumping into harm's way without a plan like they do." Kyra mumbled to herself, balancing her feet on the Centurion's belt, her upper two hands gripping the top of his chestplate. Seeing a slight rush of air coming from the Centurion's helmet around where the knife was lodged in, Kyra grabbed the knife with both upper hands as she pulled herself up, tucking her legs in as she pressed her feet flat against the Centurion's chestplate. Pulling back as hard as she could, the now-deactivated knife was thoroughly stuck, which was exactly what she wanted as the Centurion grabbed her by the back of the neck. Pulling the Vandal off, the Centurion effectively killed himself as he pulled Kyra off, the Vandal's stubborn grip making the Shock Dagger, and by extension the Centurion's helmet, come with her. Dying from the explosive decompression of his suit equalizing with the outside world, the Centurion fell to his knees as Kyra fell on the floor, unfortunately not far enough back as the Centurion fell the rest of the way to the floor, landing on top of her. With effectively everything below and including her midsection being pinned under the dead Cabal, Kyra tried vainly to push the Centurion off, not quite able to do so as she gave up, laying flat on her back and loudly exhaling in defeat.

Getting some assistance, Caldwell just happened to be passing by Kyra's section of the warehouse when he saw the inconvenienced Vandal. Putting down his Pulse Rifle, Caldwell helped roll the 800-pound behemoth of an alien over before giving Kyra a hand.

"For all the downsides of being an Exo, at least there's one upside." Caldwell half-said to Kyra, half to himself as he referenced his increased strength, helping the Vandal up. Grabbing his Pulse Rifle again, Caldwell got only about that far before they were both reminded of the increasing amount of Cabal coming in as another Centurion tried to bash Barrett with his weapon, knocking over a large quantity of ammo crates. Making a thunderous crash, the Centurion actually was able to catch Barrett in a bad spot, making a followup swing that batted the Titan off his feet, effectively moving the entire group closer into a single area. Moving to support him, the rallying of the group around Barrett as he got back up made for a good time to pitch a Plan B.

"Hey, I know it's a bit ironic for me to suggest this after what happened at that Kings place in Old Russia, but there's a _lot _of precious ammo in here, and plenty of it's been knocked loose. Maybe let's find an exit and toss some parting gifts at it on our way out?" Merikh suggested, still finding it hard to believe that he landed that grenade so accurately back at the Kings' facility.

"Well, these walls are hundreds of years old, so as long as we don't stay very long, the whole building shouldn't come down on us before we can leave." Sivala figured, tapping Barrett on the shoulder to get his attention. Making a small head jerk, the two Titans led the way up one of the ramps, the rest of the Fireteam taking shots at an encroaching group of Legionaries not far away from them. One such Legionary dying on the ramp just short of them, his large body presented a complication as the rest of the Cabal tried to shove it off and catch up. Reaching the top of the ramp, the Fireteam had a straight shot towards a cracked wall, prompting Barrett and SIvala to look at each other.

"You a Striker too?" Barrett asked, getting an idea.

"Yeah. Run at the wall and kick it in?" Sivala responded, seeing where Barrett was going with this. Getting a running start, both Titans ran side-by-side at the wall in a full-tilt sprint. Barrett stopping just short of the wall to deliver a straight kick with his right leg, Sivala went above and beyond that, jumping at the same time Barrett stopped and giving the wall a full-on dropkick with both feet. Their combined force knocking a large chunk of the wall right out, luck seemed to be on their side, as an open gap where a window used to be was right in line with their wall-hole. Moving on to part 2 of the plan, the Titans waited for the rest of the Fireteam to come over before, amidst their gunfight, everyone except Kyra drew grenades of various kinds in their free hands. Throwing the grenades within a relatively short time of one-another, their haphazard trajectories ensured an all-encompassing reach as they each turned and leapt for the building next-door, escaping as the warehouse went up in a bang. Everyone scrambling to their feet to get away from the wall closest to the warehouse, things became even more eventful very quickly. "Well, that went over better than I expec-"

Sivala, much to everyone's surprise, was abruptly cut off as she reached a soft spot in the floor, a section of the flooring giving way under her feet. The Fireteam having crossed buildings onto the third floor, Sivala had quite a drop as her feet became tangled in some high-strength tubing that was laying around, finally reaching its end and stopping her in place after she crashed through the second floor. Dangling upside down about 8 feet off the ground floor with her legs stuck together by this cable, things got even worse as the sudden jerk of the cable reaching its limit caused Sivala's hands to slip, dropping her Suros rifle.

"No wonder why I've stayed in a Fireteam with Airada this long: I go out on my own, and shit like _this _happens. _Oh, yeah, Germany! What's the worst that could happen in the European frickin' Dead Zone!_" Sivala scolded herself, the last sentence being said in a massively satirical mock-voice usually reserved for quoting insurmountably massive idiots.

"Hey, sis, you alright down there?!" Alvara called down, trying to see if she could just subvert the stairs and make a jump down to the second floor.

"Well the blood's going to my head, and Titan armor design's probably the only reason why my helmet hasn't fallen off yet, but aside from that, yeah, all is well." Sivala responded in a much louder voice than during her self-mockery, wishing she'd at least kept hands on her rifle. Seeing a solution coming down, it was unfortunately far from the one she wanted as, amidst Alvara and Merikh's attempts to skillfully drop down, Kyra leapt for the cable holding Sivala up. Having been given Alvara's knife, the fact that Alvara must've told the Fallen to do it made it even more irritating as Kyra slowly slid down the length of the cable. Stopping at the bottom of Sivala's feet, Kyra looked down with some consoling words before she went to work.

"Forgive me for this in advance, but this fall might be a bit unpleasant." Kyra tried to apologize in advance, taking Alvara's knife and slowly cutting through the cable with it. Having to effectively saw through the stubborn cable, Kyra eventually got it to budge. Not having thought far enough in advance to cut the cable _below _where she was holding on, both Kyra and Sivala went for a fall, Sivala falling on her front while Kyra landed on her back, right on Sivala's back. Kyra rolling off the Titan's back, Sivala was going to give a few choice words before a seismic blast blew in the stained-glass windows that made up a decent portion of the building's front end. Covering their heads with their arms as the glass debris flew, it settling gave rise to a worse problem than a small fall. Standing just outside the building was an Imperial Colossus, a good nickname for him being 'Definition of Overkill'. Being roughly 25% larger than a normal Colossus, the Imperial Colossus had the ribbed shoulderpad usually found on a Colossus' left shoulder for both of his, with two floodlight-lenses like a Centurion's placed on each of said shoulders. Also possessing a Centurion's back-fins, albeit sized-up, the more noteworthy armor addition was the raised collar-plating, which acted like a shield concealing the entire lower half of the Imperial Colossus' helmet. To top it all off, the Imperial Colossus' Heavy Slug Repeater had its own special flamethrower attached to the side, complete with a separate trigger and its own fuel tank.

"_Crap….._" Sivala hissed to herself, kicking the now-slacked wire off her shins and grabbing her Suros rifle. Grabbing Kyra by the arm, she forced the two of them to run and dive for cover as the Imperial Colossus opened fire, his Heavy Slug Repeater thankfully not having any modifications to its fire-rate or ammo. Blasting entire chunks of concrete from the top layer of the building's walls in the process, the Imperial Colossus caught notice of Caldwell and Carwyn peering over the window two floors up, backing up and ceasing fire to turn on them. Triggering his back-mounted missile salvo, even this seemed to get an upgrade as he bombarded the two Guardians, the initial detonation being followed by each rocket bursting into a cluster-bomb, thoroughly trashing the front of the building. The concrete chunks, metal scraps, and glass shards harmlessly bouncing off or sliding down his armor, the Imperial Goliath only didn't dare enter the building due to the threat of a collapsing roof. The Fireteam getting enough time to catch up with Sivala and Kyra, the Imperial Colossus now had a full set of targets to pick from as he spun up his Repeater again, Barrett opening the way into a different room with his shoulder.

Breaking through the flimsy wooden door, Barrett led the way into an equally as bad alternate problem, the room they were in being largely smashed open. With even a large portion of the second floor gone, it provided quite the great view for a green and silver-clad Legionary roughly the size of a two-story building to look on at them. His equipment was all standard design for a Legionary, including a Slug Rifle that was unmodified aside from its obviously larger size.

"Well, looks like we found the Earth Crashers….." Merikh's Ghost noted with an audible twinge of fear, the massive Legionary only giving a few-second headstart for the Fireteam as he let out a booming roar, the sound noticeably amplified from that of a normal Legionary. Opening fire on the team, they took a turn from their usual flee-everything-big approach and instead concentrated fire on the Legionary's head. His return fire missing, the large Legionary was soon-after dropped as his body fell backwards, caving in the wall of the building behind him. Hearing more Cabal approaching from just down the road, Merikh's Ghost had a massively-relieving transmission come in as more Guardian ships could be heard passing in the distance. "Sounds like more Guardians are responding to Ikora's info….there's a couple Fireteams coming in at the other end of Germany. They won't be coming to help us, but there's more of them than there are of us, so the Cabal will probably pull all further deployments to go after them. Won't move the ones already here, but if we can kill these Cabal, I think we'll have an opening to call our Jumpships."

"In that case, I say let's stand and fight for once. We've run twice from the Cabal already, so what are we really defending in the long run if we don't turn and push them back?" Merikh asked as he reloaded his Hand Cannon, getting unusually inspirational. Going to the edge of their building's fractured wall, Merikh poked his head out for just a second before getting absolutely nailed between the eyes with a Slug Rifle round. His shields keeping him from dying or suffering severe trauma, the blast and sheer force of the round still made him take a second's pause.

"Still feeling all inspirational there, hero?" Sivala prodded, finding humor in Merikh's current state. Heavily hunched forward, his free left hand was placed on the wall to keep himself up as his right hand, still gripping his Hand Cannon, was pressed with the back of his hand against his helmet.

"Would you just go out there and shoot the big angry Space Turtles already?" Merikh griped, moving his Hand Cannon away from his head to wave it in the direction of the Cabal like a 'get moving' gesture. Listening despite the comedy of Merikh's situation, the Fireteam split up across the road, with Sivala, Kyra and Caldwell crossing over to the other side while Merikh, Alvara, and Carwyn stayed on their side. Technically being the heavy boot with which Komodo makes headway in adverse odds like these, Barrett opted to do neither, instead going out into the road and taking cover amidst the wrecked cars to take the Cabal head-on. The Imperial Colossus from earlier being at the forefront of the advancing Cabal, he was priority #1. Unfortunately, the rest of the Cabal weren't far behind in importance, with more Earth Crasher Legionaries supported by Bone Crushers of every non-Imperial unit type. Some of the Earth Crashers getting drawn off from Barrett by Sivala and Caldwell opening fire, this left a great opportunity for the Imperial Colossus to be singled out. Swapping to his Sniper Rifle, Merikh sighted in and was able to land a round on the Colossus' helmet, being the first of what would've been many if Alvara's bloodlust hadn't come out to play.

Seeing an opening to tear into the Imperial Goliath, Alvara drew her knife as it erupted with Arc energy, Merikh's only forewarning about her plans being a flare of Arc energy as Alvara leapt through the window of her second-floor hiding spot. Landing on the Imperial Colossus' back, Alvara used the silver bar mounted to the Colossus' back as a handle as she lashed at him, shearing off one back-fin and searing large gashes through his armor. Taking immediate notice, the Imperial Colossus jerked his right shoulder forward, causing Alvara to essentially vault over the Colossus' back and onto the ground in front of him. Turning his weapon on her, the Colossus lit the ground in front of him ablaze with the side-mounted flamethrower as Alvara vanished. Not able to tell where she went, the Colossus found his answer as Alvara ran through the fire, the damage removing her invisibility as she leapt out of said fire and onto the Imperial Colossus. Getting a gripping point by embedding her Arc-infused knife in the Colossus' chestplate, Alvara scrunched her head and shrunk down as the Colossus fired a missile salvo, having done so hoping she'd jump right into it. Continuing to scale up to the Colossus' head, the rest of the Fireteam could almost hear Alvara's faint, giggle-like laughter as she responded to the Colossus' attempt to pull her off.

Doing so by holding her knife upside down before spearing it through the Colossus' open left hand, Alvara continued to worsen the Colossus' day as she yanked her knife upwards, splitting the Colossus' hand open. Grabbing the Colossus' collar-plating with her left hand, Alvara turned to look at the Colossus' face as she slashed her knife across his helmet. Following it up with bringing the knife back across, Alvara did so to stab the Colossus in the side of the head, the monstrous Cabal finally expiring as he evaporated in a flash of blue energy. Falling to a hands-and-knees position as the Colossus vanished around her, Alvara's Super wore off as she regained her finer sense of judgment, turning and falling back towards Barrett. Just as Alvara calmed down, Sivala just as quickly got daring, doing her own window-dive onto an Earth Crasher Legionary's back.

_Does Cabal-diving just run in the family or something? _Merikh thought to himself as he went back to his Hand Cannon, having a back-and-forth with some Ballistas that jump-jetted in from a nearby roof. Wielding what looked like a Slug Rifle with an extended, chrome-plated, vented barrel, the Ballistas were utilizing it in a manner similar to a Guardian's Scout Rifle, taking singular precise shots at him. Being distracted for half a second as he caught a glimpse of Sivala standing atop an Earth Crasher Legionary's back as she fired upon the other super-sized Cabal, Merikh had his attention forced back to the Ballistas as one took a chunk off the wall he was leaning around, right about head-level. Getting a bit of aid as Barrett used his Necrochasm for once, the two Guardians were able to suppress the sized-up Hybrids until a pair of Phalanx took notice. Having been attracted to Carwyn's attacks on the Earth Crasher Legionaries, the Phalanx turned to block Barrett's gunfire as they moved on him. Seeing that Alvara had to get past the Phalanx to get to Barrett, Merikh planned to use it to his advantage. Catching her attention, Merikh holstered his Hand Cannon before using both hands to make a series of gestures. Starting with what looked like moving one flattened hand down past his face, Merikh then gestured to the Phalanxes, followed by bringing up a balled fist and moving his other hand past it slowly. After that, Merikh made a gesture that ended in his hands locking fingers like an imitation of two scissors. In all, the message meant '_Go invisible and let the Phalanxes pass. Once they do, you attack them from behind and I'll attack from the front._'

Giving a silent nod, Alvara seemed to slack up and rest her head back while in her sitting cover position, disappearing in a brief flash not too long afterwards. The Phalanxes passing by her, Alvara waited for Merikh's go. Pulling out an Incendiary Grenade, Merikh hurled it towards the Phalanxes to grab their attention, boldly stepping out into the field of fire afterwards. Locking down to brace for the grenade, the Phalanxes wasted no time in opening fire on the tall Hunter afterwards as he drew his Hand Cannon. Hitting one Phalanx's gun as he returned fire, it was soon the only Phalanx as Alvara's grenade went to work without the shield in the way, taking out the other one. The surviving Phalanx recovering from his stumble, he turned to lash in Alvara's direction, only to be stopped as Merikh hurled a knife, piercing the Phalanx's helmet with deadly results. Already out and up front, the two Hunters decided to turn and advance on the Ballistas, which were dwindling in number as Kyra brained one of the last three with her Wire Rifle. Down to nothing but two Ballistas and an Earth Crasher Legionary, Merikh and Alvara descended upon the two Ballistas with a swift execution, leaving nothing but the preoccupied Legionary.

"Glad to see my sister hasn't changed much…." Alvara mumbled, Merikh still hearing it due to his close proximity as they watched the Earth Crasher Legionary thrash about. Having postponed actually killing the Legionary, Sivala was instead riding him, quite literally sitting on the back of the Legionary's neck with one leg draped down on either side of his helmet as she gripped the back of his helmet with her free hand, the Legionary thrashing and jerking around to throw her off. "Hey, sis! Could you kill him already so we can get going?"

Not giving a reply of any kind, Sivala acknowledged the request regardless as she pulled her legs up, getting in a position to dislodge the Legionary's helmet with a kick to the back of the head. Breaking the pressure-seal, Sivala rolled backwards off the Legionary's back as he fell forward, marking the end of the engagement. Walking around to the top of the dead Legionary to regroup with everyone else, Sivala was particularly quick to go.

"You guys go ahead and leave, I'm going to stay and see if I can find a Cabal command post or some other base of operations here. Might group up with that crowd of Guardians we saw flying in." Sivala suggested, placing her Suros Regime rifle on her back. Pulling her helmet off, she did so because she knew her glowing green eyes would be burning into Merikh's soul like the Darkness's wrath made physical.

"Thanks for your help. If you'd like, you can join our Fireteam for the future." Caldwell suggested, impressed with Sivala's skills.

"Ah, sorry, already in one with my other sister Airada and an Exo she's grown pretty attached to. Just let me know if you ever want to run a joint-mission in the future though, I'm sure Merikh would love to see me more often." Sivala said with a smile, standing on the tips of her toes to reach up and bend Merikh forward in a half-headlock, half-one armed hug. Obviously experiencing massive discomfort from Sivala's prodding, Merikh was let off easy as she reclaimed her helmet and disappeared into her arriving jumpship, the Vintage Russian Soul. Rising back into the air, the green Jumpship took off in the direction the Cabal were coming from, disappearing into the horizon. Nobody having much else to say, their own Jumpships were soon to follow.

_Later, Kyra's Riverside Shack….._

Laying in her ramshackle bed, Kyra passed the time in an exceptionally creative way compared to what the City would expect of a Vandal. With her Shock Dagger on medium-setting, Kyra held a moderately-sized stone in her upper hands, her lower right hand holding her knife as she sculpted and shaved off the edges. Trying to shape it into a sphere, exceptional care was being taken to shape the finest small curves to make a perfect sphere. Getting the general shape, Kyra looked at a poster of the Traveler pinned up on the wall to her right as she began to edge in small gashes along the bottom, trying to mimic the Traveler's scars. Only just starting that part, Kyra quickly stopped as she could tell someone was coming. Hearing heavy, large footsteps crunching into the grass outside her shack, the otherwise soothing calm of nature made it easy for her to tell the footsteps apart. Putting the stone down, Kyra sheathed her knife and grabbed her Wire Rifle. Getting out of the bed, Kyra went to her shack's door and stepped outside, coming face to face with the last person she ever expected.

"_Riksis?:_" Kyra asked in surprise, unable to rationalize both how he found her, and why he would come all the way out here. Wearing his normal armor, Riksis took a kneeling stance and held his Shrapnel Launcher by the pump in his upper right hand, standing it up so the back of the stock touched the floor.

"So, you're with the Guardians now?" Riksis asked, sounding like he was trying _very _hard to be indifferent. Whether or not it was working, however, was debatable.

"It was that or die on the floor of a Kings facility we weren't prepared for. We both know Nassik despises me, I wouldn't be surprised if he coordinated the failed assault just to get me killed. Besides, I've got better opportunities with these Guardians than I ever did under the Devils." Kyra defended, Riksis knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"That's where the problem lies: The Kell knows you're with the Guardians, he asked me to come here and kill you." Riksis admitted, feeling Kyra at least needed to know in advance. Throwing her Wire Rifle onto her back, Kyra tilted her head downwards, closed her eyes, and started to walk down towards the river.

"And you would do that? I have a greater opportunity to seek remorse with the Great Machine by staying with these Guardians than I _ever _did serving under Nassik! We can finally reclaim our lost glory, be more than….._pirates and scavengers! _I thought part of why we grew so close is because we both felt there was a way back to what we once were that isn't paved on the bones of the dead. Getting docked for my suggestions of sympathy with the Guardians so long ago may have taught me to keep quiet within the Devils, but now that the opportunity is presenting itself, I can make those beliefs a reality. If you let me live, we could stand _with _the Guardians, take revenge on the wretched Hive and maybe, just maybe, even reclaim our homeworld. Wouldn't you want that?" Kyra lectured, not intimidated by her old love's superior size or firepower. Hanging his head, Riksis tightly gripped his Shrapnel Launcher's pump as he thought on it.

_If I betray the Kell's orders, it could very well be my head on the block as well. But to let Kyra's dreams flourish….if they actually work….. _Riksis contemplated, having both love and a genuine desire to see something better for his race get in the way of his duty. Being interrupted from his thoughts, Riksis rose back to his feet as he heard a group of more Fallen coming towards them, belonging to the House of Winter. Turning to face them, both Kyra and Riksis could tell, given the Devils' attempts to get on good terms with the Winter, that Nassik no doubt asked this group to tail Riksis as an insurance policy. Consisting of 8 Dregs, a Shrapnel Launcher-wielding Captain, and three Shock Rifle Vandals, they slowly walked up with an attitude not far from that of a mugger. Thinking more on what Kyra said, Riksis made up his mind, even if it were disadvantageous in the long run.

"Kyra, take cover behind something. Anything." Riksis directed, gripping his Shrapnel Launcher properly. Smart enough to not waste time asking, Kyra turned and ran towards the river, diving behind a tree. Knowing she was clear, Riksis lifted his right foot before stomping the ground, blasting the Winter Fallen off their feet. Killing four of the Dregs and one of the Vandals, Riksis' seismic stomp scattered the group. The remainder of the Winter Fallen splitting up, two of the Dregs skirted around the edge to chase Kyra. Armed with only Shock Daggers, the Dregs got their ferocity matched as Kyra drew her own Shock Dagger. Getting one of the Dregs across the throat right away, the second one had more luck as he tackled Kyra, running both of them backwards into the river. Not being a high-speed river, the biggest inconvenience was just getting wet as the two Fallen wrestled around. Going for Kyra's neck, the Dreg got his swing thrown off by a punch to the stomach, causing him to cut down one of Kyra's helmet-horns.

Placing her upper left hand on the Dreg's face, Kyra shoved the Dreg backwards, flipping their position so she was mounted on the Dreg. Stabbing the Dreg through the chest with her Dagger, Kyra stayed where she was as she drew her Wire Rifle, shaking any excess water in it before scoping in. The remaining two Vandals and Captain trying to give Riksis the run-around, one Vandal found their efforts cut off as Kyra brained him, catching the attention of his allies. Only stopping to stare at Kyra for a second as they took in her slaughter of the two Dregs, this was all it took as Riksis threw a forward kick into the Captain's chest. Launching him onto his back, the Captain's strained breathing was put to an end as Riksis closed in, stomping the Captain's chest to off him. With Kyra taking out the other Vandal, all was clear again.

"Thanks…..Nassik no doubt knew you wouldn't just kill me without a second thought. I just hope this doesn't compromise things within the Devils for you." Kyra thanked, looking around at the dead Winter Fallen. Kneeling down, Riksis took the helmet of a dead Winter Vandal, seemingly having an idea.

"Perhaps we can salvage this situation. Give me your helmet and take this Winter Vandal's helmet in return. I'll return to the Devils with your helmet as proof, and perhaps they will assume you're dead, at least for a short while." Riksis directed, passing Kyra the helmet in his free hand. Taking her helmet off, Kyra accepted the swap as Riksis clipped Kyra's old helmet to his belt.

"Thank you, Riksis….if you find yourself run out of the Devils, just come find me here. The Guardian that took me in would probably do the same for you with some explanation." Kyra offered, giving Riksis a Plan B. Reaching up and giving the large Archon the closest thing to a hug she could given their size differences, the two Fallen split after that.

_Meanwhile, on Venus…._

The door to the Vault of Glass opening, this seemingly mystical event was interrupted by the cacophony of gunfire impacting one of the defending Praetorians. Stumbling backwards at the set of 6 guns laying into it, the Praetorian's head ripped off, swiftly followed by the headless husk going slack as the dead Praetorian fell down the stairs leading up to the actual gate. Still sparking and twitching, a Titan in the expeditionary group responsible stomped on the Praetorian's back, extinguishing it completely.

"At least he's good for something…" A Hunter in the group, Komo-49, lowly jabbed at the Titan behind his back. In contrast to the lush green nature of Venus, Komo's armor was a drab, dark grey and off-white color.

"He may be mysterious, but best we don't incite the Disciples of Osiris. They _did _contribute their champion to this expedition after all." An Awoken Warlock on this trek, simply known as Asyryth, reasoned as they looked on at the mysterious Sibuna, Champion of Osiris. Dressed in full Exile armor and Mark, the shady Titan was nearly as veiled in mystery as Xur. Even carrying Osiris-branded weapons, his echoey, vocoded voice made it impossible to know if he was organic, or an Exo with a damaged voice module.

"Contribution or not, he reeks of a vibe nearly as bad as the legends of Dredgen Yor. The sooner we're away from him, the sooner he can't murder us all." Komo continued to belittle, seemingly trusting the Vex more than she did Sibuna. Resigning himself, Asyryth tried to focus more on what he could learn from the denizens of the Vault, knowing that any Guardian being likened to Dredgen Yor was not worth defending.

Post-Chapter Note

Stormhawk99: Admittedly, since a large portion of the missions in Destiny are scaled to three players and relatively tame, the story probably won't directly explore too many of the in-game missions. Despite that, there will be events that relate to lines in the game, such as things that interconnect with Eris' revenge in The Dark Below or Skolas' attempted reign of terror in the House of Wolves. Part of the reason for this is, through dating events in the story by referring to events in the game as recent, having those mentions come up as "A Guardian did this" or "A Guardian did that", it leaves it more open for the reader to imagine it was them being referred to rather than "Sorry, these people went and did this, and it happened this way. Your experience in-game's irrelevant here", similar to how keeping Noble 6's face hidden in Halo Reach made it easier for players to feel like it was truly them. One exception to this though is the Raids, which after some discussion with a friend of mine, are possibly getting a different approach than before.

We were able to get as far as settling that the Raids should get their own, self-contained chapter to be seen through from beginning to end. Where we can't decide (And where the readers can help) is if I should do so as a specially-labeled chapter that's technically out of line with the rest of the story, its place in the story dated by a small excerpt from the Raid chapter that is placed in a "normal" chapter like what you see above, or should I just upload a new, one-chapter story for the Raid and say that it's technically part of this one? Me and her have completely and utterly come to a dead-stop on which way it should go, so any feedback's immensely helpful on that. Speaking of the Raid, the three characters mentioned here will get their own, much more prominent appearances with proper appearance descriptions and development later, their appearance right here was more just a holdover from the old Raid inclusion plan in the story. I originally wasn't going to put it in this chapter, but I got convinced otherwise for the sake of setting up the characters for later. Also, to Beowulf the Novelborn:

It's not canonical, it's just some crap-ass butchery of a language I threw together for the story that, from here out, is scrapped because of how bad it is. I'm hopeful that, with Skolas' dialogue in House of Wolves, an official language might appear, but until then they'll just speak English when they get lines from here.

Speaking of the House of Wolves, since the current events in the story technically predate the DLC (Vestian Outpost isn't open yet, Crota's End hasn't happened yet, and at this point, Zydron just got exterminated), I changed the helmet for Sivala (The characterization of my Titan I use in-game) from the one I actually use both because it's technically impossible to have at this point in the story (Kellslayer's Helm), and it's also really not one of the more visually-appealing helmets in the game. For anyone curious, I skipped on describing her face because technically she's already appeared (Albeit in a small cameo) a few chapters ago where her head and hair were described, and the specific Shader I was referring to is the Beowulf shader. Speaking of Sivala, any feedback on her's especially welcome since I had to stop and seriously think about how she acted: I got the idea for the Cabal-fighting affinity well before helping YourLastWords by editing his Destiny story, but regardless I was concerned that Sivala might be seen as a rip-off of the Titan Kaira from his story if I wasn't careful. Might just be self-worry, but secondary opinions are always appreciated.

Moving on down the list of things I wanted to say, speaking of my friend: After the success I feel me and her had revitalizing my story American Monsters and bringing in some much better and more interesting characters than what I could do on my own, she and I have, with much back and forth, created a list of characters and concepts to be included in the story in the long run, some ideas being farther along than others. As per her suggestion, here's a small excerpt from our categorized list (Yes, we actually created a reference list for when we need to refer back to a character so that we know the order they're listed in within the file we jot the ideas in) that can tease a few things of what's to come. Also note, neither of the first two are Guardians:

Midas

Kudac

Unnamed Vex Stealth Unit

Unnamed Fallen Gunslinger

Not much, but I hope it gets people thinking about what can come from here on out. Some of them like Midas will be coming much, much faster than initially planned, but it could still be a while. Aside from that, the only other question I have is, in the end, was this a good intro for the Cabal? I strive to be a memorable, recognizable writer that can be notorious for certain writing styles/habits, but with that said, given the success of my other Destiny story, Cabal Code of Problems, a big hope of mine with this chapter is that putting the imagery of Cabal dancing to Gangnam Style doesn't end up being the only memorable thing I do with them. (If you haven't read Cabal Code of Problems, that statement will make absolutely 0 sense).

Asyryth belongs to Stormhawk99, but Sibuna and Komo-49 belong to me, especially since Komo's the characterization of my Hunter in-game. Also, big thanks to Stormhawk99 since, well, unless more character PM's come in before I write the full VOG Raid, you're the only person who's submitted a Guardian so far. Sibuna was actually originally created for the sake of filler to get the 6-Guardian quota, I just expanded him to have a real purpose later not too long before finishing this chapter. And yes, I'll admit, his armor choice was at least 5% born out of envy over the fact that I'll most likely never get it myself. Raids I can handle, beaten both on Hard, but PVP events? I'd have better luck getting Bungie to make this story and all its original elements canon.


	10. The King's Gold

Chapter 10: The King's Gold

_Inside Caldwell's apartment, Upper Housing Districts, The Last City…_

_It's for the better of us all. _A voice said, swiftly followed by Caldwell jerking to an upright sitting position in his bed. The voice having come from within his own head, it was the tail-end of the same dreadful, recurring memory that wouldn't leave him alone. Getting out of bed, the Exo Warlock walked from his relatively small bedroom to the living area, which was loaded up with a variety of items. Along the far wall opposite him, there were multiple Thrall skulls, Knight helmets, and random bits of Acolyte plating mounted on the wall. Sitting atop a table below that was a dormant Cleaver, the Darkness within it having been sapped out and nullified. In addition, the masonry jars filled with the decrepit, grotesque flakes peeled from dead Acolytes proved Caldwell had a bit of an obsession with the Hive. But where someone like Toland wished to understand the Hive, Caldwell merely wished to learn better ways to destroy them.

Walking up to a board stuck with multiple pins mounted on the wall to his right, said pins were holding up a number of cropped-out newspaper clippings. Looking at one of them in detail, Caldwell only did so in light of his recurring dream:

_Hakke R&amp;D Facility on Europa Blown Up After Falling Siege to the Hive, Sole Survivor Tells the Tale _The clipped-out article read, Caldwell's optics moving down to a particular section of the article after that. _In addition to the military force sent to reclaim the facility, along came famed field-reporter and Exo engineer Launce Henrik. While Launce perished in the facility's destruction to stop the Hive, his bodyguard and personal creation, the Exo Caldwell-83, survived. Having been the one to stop the Hive from gaining a better foothold on Europa by detonating the facility per his creator's orders, the Exo is being hailed as a hero, and rightfully so._

"I'd say hero's an arguable title." Caldwell mumbled to himself, stepping back to look at the rest of what was there. In addition to just about every possible different news clipping relating to the incident, Caldwell even had recorded versions of the news broadcasts relating to the tragedy, which were all stored on separate disks and kept in a single stack. That being off to the side of the table, right in the center was his choice of arms at the time, an ancient Khvostov-model assault rifle. Being from back when he was just a tin soldier and not a Guardian, Caldwell kept it around as a reminder of what he once was. Even having his old military-issue dogtags from that time hanging by another pin on the board, one could say he was obsessed with the dark point in his past that claimed his maker's life.

"That's you in some of those clippings. Old source of pride?" A synthetic, Exo-like voice asked from behind Caldwell, finally deciding to show herself. Having known she was there, Caldwell was just waiting for her to speak up as he calmly turned to face her. A fellow Exo like him, this one's visible face was white, blue optics, and a Hunter-like hood hiding most of her head. Unlike normal Hunters, hers had a large, leather-like collar covering everything between her bust and her chin, as well as the cloak mostly hanging off to the left to conceal her left arm. Her right arm noticeably exposed, Caldwell vaguely remembered her from that series of scouting photos Hunters took on the Moon. Further confirming his suspicions, the female Exo even had the unusual, unique Pulse Rifle seen in those images clipped to her back.

"More like an old source of guilt. I keep it around to make sure I don't forget what happened, even if I've come a long way since then." Caldwell answered, referring to how he went from a single gear in humanity's defenses to one of humanity's last sources of hope. Giving his answer with a rumbling tone of loathing, Caldwell's current appearance fit his mood quite well. Having none of his gear except his pants, this made it possible to see that Caldwell was one of the later Exos to be made. Having an all-grey frame to match the head most got to see, his was broad-shouldered, yet smooth and streamlined in its appearance, even possessing curved shoulder-plating that melded into his biceps. Not possessing any visible moving parts or cables, his systems ran totally silent as well, not even emitting any light from within. Through that, one could almost say his vibe and chassis matched: Cold, grey, and devoid of most signs of life outside of the fact that he walked and talked.

"While remembering the past so you don't repeat your mistakes is good, it honestly sounds more like you're torturing yourself. But, that's not why I'm here." The Exo Stranger changed subjects, not wanting to belittle Caldwell's personal choices. Currently standing in Caldwell's unused kitchen as she waited on him, the start of their conversation prompted her to walk towards him, taking a seat in one of the white chairs placed around the room. Crossing her legs, the Exo Stranger looked like she wasn't exactly happy-go-lucky herself as she tried to explain her intrusion. "I wasn't exactly upfront with the last Guardian I spoke to, so I'm going to be upfront with you: I'm not from this point in time. The future I come from, we've lost. The Darkness won, the City's gone and the last of the Light's been forced to scatter and hide among asteroids like rats. Even the Awoken were overpowered, but it doesn't have to be like that."

"So you've come back with guidance on how we can deflect this outcome away, haven't you?" Caldwell guessed, still standing where he was when he turned around. Easing up slightly, he was more intrigued by her claims and less concerned by her infiltration into his apartment. Walking over to sit on the couch opposite this stranger, she thoroughly had his attention.

"In my time running from the Vex, I sometimes got access to their communication lines. They frequently made mention of something on the dark side of the Moon, like it was a containment area for something. I don't know if they're protecting experimental weaponry or keeping a potential ally to our cause secluded from our dimension, but whatever is in there, the Vex sounded like they want it to stay in there. If you trust me, you'll go to these coordinates and see what you find. Just be warned: Once you get there, even I don't know what you might find exactly." The Exo Stranger explained, standing up and walking over to pass a small piece of paper into Caldwell's hand. "Also, some woman named Alvara wants you to come to her place and 'spend the night fine-tuning her electronics', not sure if that's supposed to be code for something."

Turning the Stranger's piece of paper over, Caldwell found that she wrote the coordinates on the back of a note Alvara must've snuck under his door. Seeing the note was asking for exactly what the Stranger claimed it said, Caldwell could see how that would be misunderstood.

"It's uh…..small hobby of mine. Takes my mind off things." Caldwell awkwardly answered despite Alvara's request being literal, not an innuendo for something. Putting the note in his pocket, Caldwell went from dreary to awkward as he waited for the Stranger to say something else.

"Well, whatever that's for, it's your business, not mine. I've told you all I know on the subject, so I'm going to depart. Wouldn't want to interfere with however your Fireteam operates after all." The Exo Stranger lightly saluted as she began to turn and walk to the door. Being stopped as Caldwell made a half-choked up, awkward 'uh'-like noise, she turned to see what he had to say.

"If you, uhm…..find yourself in this time again at any point and need some place to hide, feel free to come here. You know…..just as an offer." Caldwell awkwardly offered, not quite sure what was catching his eye about this person. The Exo Stranger giving a small nod and a wave as she seemed to almost digitize into thin air, this left Caldwell alone once more. Looking down at the note he was given, he was hesitant to follow up on it. "Hey, Ghost? Can you get a line open to Merikh? Just him…..need to get his opinion on this."

_3 hours later, the Dark Side of the Moon….._

Landing…somewhere, it was difficult at best for the Fireteam to tell what exactly they landed on, only knowing that it was flat ground. All 5 Ghosts appearing, each one separated their plates to emit a bright, radial floodlight from their cores. Almost like their normal flashlight taken to an extreme, each one spaced themselves out enough to illuminate the area without blinding anyone as the group examined their surroundings. Seeming like a rock quarry of sorts, it was quickly realized that while there was most certainly excavation being done, it was not stone slabs they were surrounded by.

"I'm no expert on the Vex, nor am I claiming to be, but….aren't these their structures?" Kyra warily pointed out, poking one-such white stone-block with the end of her Wire Rifle. Taking a closer look around, the rest of the group realized that the white stone slabs and squares piled around them were, in fact, Vex architecture. Strangely, dotted around the area was also signs of the Hive, including their mysterious, massive lanterns and the black slop commonly associated with the presence of Thralls. Some rudimentary, basic Hive architecture being built into the walls around them, it almost seemed like it was the _Hive _doing the excavating. Carefully advancing, the fact that the site seemed abandoned wasn't serving to ease any nerves.

"That's strange…the small signal emissions I'm able to get from the Vex architecture around us sounds like the Vex here are't alarmed by the Hive. It'd take a direct link with a Conflux to tell you exactly what they're saying, but this still isn't good. Why aren't they alarmed?" Caldwell's Ghost wondered, expecting the Vex to be up in force and spilling out of Transfer Gates by the dozen to erase any traces of Hive presence on their territory. Going down a dusty hill leading further into this excavation project, the area started to get enclosed. With two tall, monolithic vex structures walling their descent down the hill into a straight path, they saw that this meager excavation operation was far more than that. A myriad of different Vex constructions in varying, yet all angular shapes and sizes, these seemed to have been built over by Hive walkways and catwalks, showing they had quite heavily moved in. With their banners hanging off the walls and their strange, chain-hung candles and talismans dangling from the roof, the Hive that must be here gave off the message that they resided here at all times. Reaching the bottom of the hill, things very sharply took a tense turn as the structure around them seemed to come alive, a small pulse of energy passing through before a number of Transfer Gates, both high and low, all flashed to life. In addition, Hive of all kinds began to howl and sprint from whatever dark corners of their excavation site they hid in, ready to attack the Light intruding on them.

"Did somebody hit a tripwire or something? Because we _really _kicked a hornet's nest now!" Merikh asked as he ran for cover, their worst problem emerging from the massive Transfer Gate at the far end of the room. About 40 feet away from the Fireteam, out of this Gate formed the pieces to a massive, easily 30-foot tall Minotaur-type Vex. Painted black as night, the Minotaur had a Manticore's left-forearm shield and hoof-like feet, but lacked the back attachment or the tubes in the right arm. Having a head with a small, vertical optic in the front, the head's overall design looked like a skeletal, futuristic version of a Goblin's fan-like headpiece. Armed with a Manticore's quad-barreled shotgun, the machine's name was registered as _Vudron, Gate Lord_ in their HUDs. Alarmingly, the midnight-black Hive spilling out not only ignored the Gate Lord, they seemed to run and take cover in tandem with the golden, white-striped Hezen Protective Vex coming out, almost as if they worked together.

"Not sure if this bothers anybody else, but the Hive and the Vex look like they're on the same side. Doesn't exactly spell 'good times', right?" Barrett pointed out, half the Fireteam going right while half went left as they found themselves at a T-split, with the straight path being where they came from and two doorways across from each other, one to the left and the other to the right of that path's end. Holding position in that region, each half of the Fireteam mostly hid around their respective doorway to avoid the Gate Lord's fire. Seeing the oncoming enemy force getting closer, some new things stuck out quickly, especially to Carwyn as a Hallowed Thrall leapt for him. Maintaining the basic structure of a normal Thrall, the Hallowed Thrall had what looked to be a massive armor increase, possessing a thick, dusty chestplate with guillotine-like collarbone ridges that was bound to its body. With similar infused armor plating on the Thrall's arms and legs, even the head had a more protected, armored look in the form of a carapace-like plate concealing the upper half of its head. The Thrall's claws seeming relatively untouched, its offensive ability was nonetheless bolstered with a series of small knuckle-studs, one on each knuckle, that were painfully fused to its hands. Also possessing a small loincloth, almost like a sized-down version of what Acolytes had, the Hallowed Thrall gave off an air of respect not given to normal Thralls.

Having scrambled over the blocks of Vex architecture, the Hallowed Thrall exhibited more complex behavior as it leapt for Carwyn's back, wrapping its legs around his hips and holding onto the Titan's left shoulder. Using its free right hand, the Hallowed Thrall made a ravenous attempt to bludgeon the back of Carwyn's head with its closed fist, alternating in some raking slashes every now and then. Catching the Thrall's right arm with his left hand, Carwyn forcefully pulled the Thrall off, the rickety skeleton-creature slamming onto the floor back-first as it was yanked whole-heartedly over Carwyn's right shoulder. Still holding the Thrall's arm, Carwyn's attempt to flatten the Thrall's skull with his boot was actually only half-successful, the armored plating causing a cracked jaw to be the worst of its injuries as it thrashed back to its feet. Four more normal Thralls scrambling over the same bits of architecture the Hallowed one did, these were far more uncoordinated as they pushed each other down, each one wanting to be the first at Carwyn's Light.

Getting some backup, Merikh was the first to help as he hurled a knife at the Hallowed Thrall, the force of the blow throwing the jittery mess into a frontflip as it impacted the back of the Thrall's head. Firing his Hand Cannon at the other Thralls, they were quickly cut down, and even cut apart, in the crossfire between him and Carwyn. Turning and reaching for Merikh, the Hallowed Thrall's dying action was to try and rip a chunk out of Merikh, being stopped by a point-blank Hand Cannon round to the stomach. Moving to see what was closest to them, Merikh had to quickly jerk back from the line of incoming fire. Coming from a Cavalier wielding one of their strange, spike-throwing corrupted Auto Rifles, the hail of gunfire was backed up by a Manticore and a pair of Necrochasm-wielding Marauders. Throwing an Incendiary Grenade, the small blast of fire was enough to incinerate one Marauder, the other having scrambled up a wall while the Cavalier and Manticore simply took the blast in stride.

Seeing the surviving Marauder attempt to wall-run at him, Merikh threw the agile Hive off-balance with a round hitting its ankle, the killing blow being a thin, metal wire through the head as it fell to the ground. Knowing exactly who caused it, Merikh turned his attention back on the Manticore and Cavalier. Carwyn throwing his grenade into the mix, this near-totally fried the Manticore's shield as it advanced, vanishing in a quick blip of light. Reappearing just in front of Merikh, the wirey Hunter was able to more or less make a controlled fall, going right under the Manticore's surprise left hook. The swing knocking a bit of the Vex architecture's marble-colored outer layer off, the Manticore's fist showed no signs of damage from it. Throwing one of his knives from his near-seated position in front of the Manticore, Merikh was able to wedge this one in the Manticore's shoulder-socket, causing its left arm to lock up awkwardly. Fingers splayed out in random directions, the Manticore's left arm seemed completely unusable now. Swinging a kick to try and knock Merikh's head back like a pez dispenser, the Manticore's sensor overload from its damaged shoulder was throwing off its aim.

Crawling between the Manticore's legs, Merikh jerked to his feet as fast as he could and fired a round into the Manticore's back, puncturing the generator for its Hydra-like shield. Turning to face Merikh, this left the disadvantaged Manticore open for more back-shots as Carwyn perforated it with his Pulse Rifle. The power supply within being irreparably damaged, this left the Manticore on a self-destruct course and Merikh forced to either run at the enemy, or try to run by the Manticore before it blew up. Choosing the former, Merikh tried his luck with the Cavalier as the Manticore blew to pieces in an explosion roughly similar to that of a dead Hydra. Turning his Hand Cannon on the large Hive creature, it was at this regrettable moment that Merikh realized his Hand Cannon's cylinder was empty. The Cavalier opening fire unopposed, Merikh turned and fell back to a better position as the glowing green spikes slammed into the dust near him. Chasing after Merikh, the Cavalier's stride was stopped awkwardly by a thin piece of metal piercing its collarbone. Actually stumbling backwards from the unseen Wire Rifle shot, a second surprise came as Kyra, who crawled up onto some of the Hive-built walkways, sprinted for the Cavalier. Coming at a diagonal angle from the Hive beast, Kyra's Wire Rifle was on her back and Shock Dagger in hand as the Gate Lord tried to shoot her, the rounds impacting not far behind as she leapt off her raised position and onto the Cavalier.

Holding the Shock Dagger upside down, it quickly found its way into the Cavalier's shoulder, then the side of the Cavalier's head as Kyra repeatedly attacked the Cavalier. Crawling up the Cavalier's chestplate and onto his back, Kyra got herself out of Merikh's way as he reloaded, assisting in the takedown as he landed a shot between all three of the Cavalier's eyes. Not dead yet, the Cavalier jerked its shoulder forward, throwing Kyra off with a tumble. Her Shock Dagger ripping a searing gash over the Cavalier's shoulder, it cared little as it roared in anger, bypassing her to give Merikh a hard kick to the chest. Succeeding, the Cavalier became distracted at the sight of rockets being launched, turning to see as they impacted the Gate Lord it was protecting. Not staying on the thought for long, the Cavalier's attention was drawn back to the fight as a now-recovered Kyra slashed the back of the Cavalier's left knee, almost separating the creature's thigh and shin. Falling to a kneel, the Cavalier tried to lash out and swing its gun at Kyra, only to get incinerated mid-swing by a prominent burst of Light.

Coming from Merikh's Golden Gun, the Cavalier vanished into a golden mist, gun and all as Merikh turned the other two shots on the Gate Lord. Searing two bullet wound-like holes in the Gate Lord's pectoral plating, the large Vex still ignored Merikh in favor of Barrett, Alvara, and Caldwell. Surprised that Merikh of all people would help her out, Kyra's chance to point this out was cut short by a group of three Axis Goblins advancing across the middle of the room, having passed over from the other side to reinforce the now-missing Cavalier and Manticore's side. Painted just like any other Hezen Protective Goblin, the Axis Goblins each possessed a head similar to that of the Gate Lord, as well as more prominent, curved shoulder-pads and leg plating. Wielding what looked like a modified Slap Rifle in place of their right forearm entirely, the weapon fired three times in quick succession, each round sounding like a sharp crack in the air. Each one having a somewhat sized-up left forearm, the purpose for this was revealed as Merikh casually blew the middle one in half with his Hand Cannon. Responding to this threat, the remaining two raised their left forearms in front of their torsos, the plating splitting open to project a golden, circular energy shield in front of them.

Just large enough to protect each Goblin's torso, thighs, and the majority of its head, this forced Kyra and Merikh to rethink their strategy as the Axis Goblins continued to fire unhindered. Kyra going left while Merikh went right, they tried to divide the fire and catch each Axis Goblin in the back. Merikh rolling an Incendiary Grenade past one's shield, this caught the attention of both as they focused fire on him. Largely ignoring Kyra, the Axis Goblins would come to regret this as a Wire Rifle round found its way into one Axis Goblin's lower back, just short of piercing its Mind-Core. Considering the attack a top-priority threat, the damaged Axis Goblin turned just in time to catch a followup round with its shield. Not having any grenades or other methods to subvert the shield, Kyra had to instead try and speed up the death of the one attacking Merikh. Trying to lean far enough past her Axis Goblin to hit Merikh's, her hasty shot missed the Axis Goblin's head, instead impacting the backside of its shield. Finding the round's sudden appearance strange, the Axis Goblin turned back to Kyra, Merikh's quick usage of his throwing knives ripping the Axis Goblin's head off. The shield dissipating, this seemed to be the key to killing them.

Able to blow apart that Axis Goblin quite easily, the two simply double-teamed the second one, Merikh getting its attention while Kyra wedged her Shock Dagger into the back of its neck. Prying the head off as if her Dagger were a crowbar, the Axis Goblin made a last-ditch attempt to deck Kyra in a 180 swipe with its gun-arm as its Mind-Core erupted, causing the upper half to spin and flop off the legs whimsically. Turning on the Gate Lord, it was already severely damaged from the other half of the Fireteam's barrage, the left arm slightly dangling out of its socket. Obviously losing the fight, the Gate Lord's Mind-Core was beginning to crack when it made a strong move forward. Swinging a punting kick at Merikh, the large Vex connected the hit, but the lack of momentum left Merikh effectively clinging to its foot rather than flying into a wall. Hearing Barrett say something, Merikh fell off the Gate Lord's foot as he tried to look back at his Titan ally. Running up to the Gate Lord, Barrett leapt the last few feet as he became enveloped in Arc energy, slamming his fists into the floor. Knocking the Gate Lord back, the large Vex stumbled back-first into its massive Transfer Gate.

The Transfer Gate not being currently set to accept entities passing through, the Gate Lord's systems were shocked with an intense burst of Arc energy. Not quite dead, the entire Fireteam was able to gather in front of it as the Gate Lord stumbled forward from the Gate, hunching forward slightly. Raising its weapon to fire, the Gate Lord had its life extinguished as the Fireteam lined up and let loose, puncturing the Mind-Core. White radiolarian fluid leaking out, the Gate Lord's left hand came up to try and shield the Mind-Core as more rounds blasted through it, smashing the Mind Core to pieces. Falling to its knees, the Gate Lord flopped forward, the upper and lower halves separating halfway through the fall. Placing its left hand flat on the floor, the Gate Lord tried to raise its head up and look at the Fireteam, Caldwell stepping up to meet it. Looking right into the Gate Lord's optic, Caldwell brought his hand back, throwing it forward in a traditional Warlock melee to blast a hole through the Gate Lord's eye. Finally dying for real, the Gate Lord's body almost disintegrated, atomizing into a grey nanite dust.

"Weren't we supposed to get into that Gate? Because this is…not really Gate-Key material." Alvara pointed out, getting a handful of the nanite dust in her left hand and letting it seep through her fingers.

"A Gate Lord's Gate isn't _that _secure. If those Hive don't come back, I might be able to get it adjusted in….6 hours?" Caldwell's Ghost pitched, giving an admittedly unfortunate estimate. The Fireteam looking at him with a shared look of dread, the loathing was offset by surprise when the massive Transfer Gate let off a loud boom, the energy within bobbing like a wave. Changing color to a slightly darker blue with a golden tinge, the Gate's behavior was anything but normal.

"Uh…..Ghost, what did that Gate just do?" Merikh asked with slight nervousness, worried the Gate was going to explode. Appearing and flying over to investigate it, Merikh's Ghost was just as confused.

"It…..changed. The polarity's been modified from the inside. Whatever's on the other side was able to force it into letting us pass. I don't know what we're going to find in there, but whatever it is, it wants to be found." Merikh's Ghost answered, backing away from the Gate. "I'll leave it up to you about if we want to go through."

"We came here to find something, but it's hard to tell if this is a trap or not….." Caldwell mumbled, the other members hardly hearing him over a loud roar and rumble overhead. Looking up, two sets of large, boney claws dug into the edge of the Vex architecture above them, each claw being roughly the size of a man's torso. A head poking over the edge too, it was reptilian in nature with an arrowhead-shaped jaw, jagged teeth, and patches of scales and skin missing. Its eyes enveloped in green fire, the large creature pulled itself forward, swooping down to land behind the Fireteam. Shaped like a dragon, the creature was 30' in length from the end of its head to the tip of its jagged, spiked tail. Its large, skeletal wings were interlinked with a thin film of skin, and the end of each bone had another glowing green spike on it. A visible green flame flaring from within its ribcage, the creature turned around to face them, their HUDS labeling it _Kulurak, Ahamkara Wraith._

"Time to go?" Merikh suggested, the keyword Ahamkara making the situation worse.

"Time to go." Caldwell comedically agreed, the Fireteam turning and running into the Gate as Kulurak walked towards them. The Gate shutting down once the Fireteam was in, Kulurak was shut out. The Fireteam getting propelled through the Gate, they landed on the other side in a bizarre land hardly resembling reality. The land looking like normal Vex architecture, they were surrounded by a strange, purple-blue void that sat still, almost like a diluted sky. Seeing that this sky existed over the edge below them too, the area was beginning to look like a prison.

"This is…..uh…." Barrett tried to comment, stopping out of a pure loss for words. The Fireteam grouping together at the edge of the large, marble-white square platform they stood on, they weren't sure what to do. The marble outer-layer peeling away, a bridge started to form out from the platform, the inner-Vex machinery almost sprouting out in the shape of a bridge all on its own. Leading up to a smaller Transfer Gate, the bridge was the only way to go. Seeming visibly hesitant, Caldwell nonetheless led the way to the smaller Transfer Gate, the Fireteam walking through slowly. Coming out the other side, the dreary sky was still present, but the land was different, the Fireteam coming out standing in a shallow body of water. Only going up to their ankles, the small pool of water was gently flowing in from a river up ahead of them. The river being bordered by stones and small patches of incredibly vibrant, saturated green grass, the architecture was making less and less sense with every passing second. Walking forward, the Fireteam continued to follow Caldwell's lead as they followed this river down its length, noticing two tall rock walls bordering them in.

Silver-plated Hobgoblins with a head similar to that of Vudron walking to the edge of both rock walls, they were unarmed. Noticeably watching the Fireteam, they did so silently like a series of statues, only slowly turning to keep watching.

"This is very, _very _bad. We need to find what we're looking for and _get the fuck out_." Alvara advised, looking up at the Hobgoblins warily. Finding a marble pathway resembling Vex architecture cut into small squares, they followed it up a wide set of stairs, the design reminiscent of a Mayan pyramid. Silver Goblins with the same head as Vudron standing at each tier on the pyramid, it seemed like these Vex were waiting for them. Reaching the top, they were greeted by a large collection of silver-plated Vex with the same head design that were armed, yet not attacking. Stepping off to the side, the group of Vex parted to make room for a large, golden-plated Manticore with the same head design and more elaborate, ridge-covered shoulder armor. In its right hand was a large weapon reminiscent of a big Slap Rifle with a thicker, bulkier barrel region, numerous vents along the barrel, and a small cylindrical power cell noticeably attached to the left side.

"I think we found what we're looking for…." Merikh whispered to Alvara, keeping his finger on the trigger. Walking up to the Fireteam, the large Manticore stopped in front of Caldwell, looking down at him. Watching the Manticore, both Hunters noticed quite quickly that this one's movement was more fluid and natural, rather than rigid and almost programmed like a normal Minotaur/Manticore. In addition, the Manticore's shoulders sagged and rose, and its head lowered, rose, and leaned off to the side like a real sentient creature trying to size someone up.

"I have to thank you: Killing Vudron like that? That sadistic entity was more like a jailer than a Gate Lord. With him gone, perhaps we can finally escape and separate the Darkness from our people." The Manticore thanked, speaking in a masculine, synthetic, bass-heavy voice. Strangely, the Manticore's voice even had inflection and tone that flowed naturally, rather than sounding pre-recorded.

"And you are….?" Caldwell inquired, hoping for a name. Taking his finger off the trigger of his Pulse Rifle, the Exo Warlock was going to try and trust this machine.

"My true name isn't very outstanding, so you can call me Midas. Of all the stories from your race's past, it's certainly the most fitting to draw a name from." Midas answered, displaying an odd knowledge of old Earth culture. "Now, to not get off on the wrong foot, allow me to clarify some things: My people do not support the Darkness, nor the Vex who do support it. We were trapped in here and suffocated under Vudron's gaze to keep us from intervening in the Darkness' goals, but with him gone, we can repay the favor to your kind. How we do so will need to come with your input, but for this service, I speak on behalf of my people when I say we're in your debt. Perhaps…I could aid you in your travels personally."

"You want to come with us?" Caldwell asked, not sure if he heard that right. The rest of the Fireteam easing up too, the tension started to die down as Midas backed up somewhat.

"In the end it's your decision to permit that I come with, but I certainly feel it would be a step in the right direction to gain your trust. I possess no sympathy for the Darkness-associated Vex and their stiff, unfeeling Programs they use to divide our race into job-specific groups like a set of input codes. Their desire to perpetuate the existence of our race has gone too far, and one could almost say they've sold their souls to a false god. If saving them from themselves means destruction of all who follow the Darkness, then so be it." Midas explained, sounding exceptionally passionate about his hatred for the Darkness.

"Alright…..your argument's good, but what about the Vex network? Assuming your people have your own sub-net you use, doesn't this mean you'd need an entourage of multiple Vex with you to work properly?" Caldwell pointed out, not wanting his Fireteam to turn into a 40-person platoon comprised largely of Vex.

"If you were to acquire the service of a Darkness-aligned Vex, that would be a problem. Personally speaking however, I'll fare perfectly fine on my own. Yes, we do use our own network in a similar manner to the other Vex, but I can operate without it. Call it….an advantage. The Darkness Vex have reduced themselves down to a logic-obsessed super-computer, devoid of culture and free-thought; devoid of a large part of what defines sentience. I, on the other hand, can process and execute my own decisions, exhibit emotion, and formulate thoughts and opinions without the need for input from a greater collective, which would allow me to come with you….what's the phrase? With no strings attached?" Midas cleared up, showing he was much more than a normal Manticore in a greater computer system. Sold on the idea, Caldwell offered up his free hand, Midas returning the gesture in an awkward, size-mismatched pseudo-handshake. Despite the revelation that friendly Vex existed, Merikh still had something to interject with:

"I understand this is a very big deal, and I'm personally quite happy to see not all Vex are bad, but…..even if Midas is what we got sent here for, we've still got a big, angry, undead dragon waiting for us outside that Transfer Gate. To boot, we don't even know if we can turn it back on after it shut behind us." Merikh pointed out, not wanting the group to lose sight of their predicament.

"We can get the Gate running again, we shut it off to seal the beast out and prevent it from killing all of you before we could meet. And besides, perhaps we could call me aiding you in the monster's death an exercise in trust?" Midas suggested, knowing he'd still need to earn trust. Putting their faith in their new teammate, the moment to test it would come much faster than anticipated as a loud, screeching roar could be heard, Midas turning around to see Kulurak flying in. Not quite understanding how this happened, the large Manticore didn't stay paused for long as he emitted what sounded like a command in a more code-based language, which prompted the group of silver-plated Vex to teleport away.

"Any particular reason you just made some good backup leave?" Barrett asked, having seen a few Minotaurs in that group.

"There aren't many of my people left. Until we can expand beyond this prison and gain a foothold somewhere to process and develop into a larger population, I'd rather I die than any of them." Midas explained, gripping the barrel of his weapon with his free hand as all 7 combatants watched Kulurak fly overhead. Spotting its prey, the large, undead Ahamkara went into a nose-dive, forcing the group to scatter as it impacted the floor of the pyramid. Emitting a green, fiery shockwave upon landing, the large dragon's impact was targeted at those bearing the Traveler's power. Afflicting all five Guardians with a sort of draining curse, they were disadvantaged, but not dead. Seeing Barrett as the best target, Kulurak made a lunge for the sluggish Guardian, able to get the impaired Titan under its front right foot. Trying to flatten the Guardian underfoot, Kulurak was forced off by a high-powered cluster of ionized red plasma impacting its boney, decrepit chin. Actually ripping the tip of its chin off, the rapid succession of followup blasts showed that Midas' weapon was, effectively, a full-auto plasma shotgun. Driving Kulurak back, Midas' advantage took a turn for the worse as Kulurak, now knowing a ground-fight with Midas would end in the Manticore's favor, leapt forward to take off into the skies again. Nearly blowing Midas over with the gust of wind it caused, the large Ahamkara flew a small distance away before turning around, intending to kill Midas with strafing runs.

"Hey, thanks for that…." Barrett thanked amidst his heavy breathing, the green fire he and the other Guardians had been coated with slowly dissipating as his strength came back. Midas grabbing Barrett's left arm to help the Titan back up, the two had to make a run for it as Kulurak swooped in, Barrett doing a dive-roll while Midas simply teleported out of the way. Scraping a series of parallel grooves into the floor with its claws, Kulurak ascended from its strafing run to fly off and back around, not wanting to chance it with Midas if it didn't have to. More of the Fireteam getting their bearings again, Merikh was the first to attack Kulurak, taking aim with his sniper in hopes of putting some holes in the Ahamkara's wings. Seeing what the Hunter was doing, Midas and Barrett, followed by the rest of the Fireteam, all took aim at Kulurak's wings. Flying in despite the heavy gunfire, the large dragon would come to regret this decision as it was thrown off-balance. Some of the rounds no doubt clipping its wing, the Ahamkara fell into a sideways roll across the length of the pyramid top, jerking back upright once it came to a stop. None too happy, the Ahamkara went for Caldwell and Carwyn this time.

Charging forward and rising onto its hind legs in an attempt to smash the two Guardians underfoot, the initial slam missed, but a followup swipe at Carwyn succeeded in knocking the Titan off his feet. Singling the Titan out, Kulurak incited a storm of retaliation on Carwyn's behalf as Caldwell, Barrett, and Alvara each threw their grenades while Merikh and Kyra aimed for the eyes with their rifles. Finding the damage to be a distracting nuisance, it really was a distraction as the Ahamkara failed to notice a pair of thick, metal feet place themselves on its back. Having clambered up Kulurak's back left leg, Midas was intent on making sure the dragon didn't take to the skies again as he opened fire, the rapid blasts of plasma ripping Kuluak's right wing off at the base. Feeling the sharp pain it caused, Kulurak let off a loud roar, rolling its shoulders and stomping the ground to try and throw Midas off. Grabbing hold of Kulurak's other wing for stability, Midas used this to his advantage. Digging his feet into Kulurak's back, Midas pulled upwards, slowly and painfully separating the decrepit skin and decayed muscle as the large Manticore ripped Kulurak's other wing off by hand. Not having any other handholds, the Manticore was finally thrown off, landing with a loud clang as he flopped onto the floor.

Now totally wingless, Kulurak lost its main advantage as the Fireteam relentlessly pelted it with gunfire. Resorting to making swipes with its claws, the Ahamkara's fatal mistake came from its decision to continue chasing Carwyn, the Awoken Titan being smart enough to keep his distance. The descent into a loss for Kulurak starting with Caldwell hurling his Nova Bomb into Kulurak's side, this was quickly followed up by Kyra and Alvara clambering onto Kulurak's back. Kyra using her Shock Dagger while Alvara charged her knife with Arc energy, the two blade-wielders began savagely stabbing and digging into Kulurak's encrusted armor, ripping entire plates and chunks off to expose the bone underneath. Kyra aiming for the top of Kulurak's skull while Alvara tore up its back, Midas decided to take away another tool of Kulurak's, grabbing hold of the dragon's tail before effectively barrel-stuffing it with his shotgun, severing the mace ball-like tail-tip from the dragon's body. Grabbing hold of the small segment of spine linked to the tail-tip, Midas then went around to Kulurak's front with the tail-tip in hand to bat the currently-overpowered Ahamkara with it. Lodging the spikes into Kulurak's armor, it was followed up with a point-blank plasma blast, ripping what was left of the Ahamkara's nose wide open.

Howling in protest at the battery it received, Kulurak's wide-mouthed roar was used as an opening as Merikh hurled an Incendiary Grenade, landing it right through Kulurak's open mouth. Ceasing its roar in surprise, the glow of the Incendiary grenade could actually be seen as it rolled down the length of Kulurak's neck, finally exploding once it reached the hellish fire in Kulurak's chest. Sending some rib-shrapnel flying, the blast must've struck a vulnerable core as Kulurak slowed down. A strange, green fluid beginning to drip from the Ahamkara's jagged mouth and its slowly-fracturing, illuminated back-spikes, Kulurak fought harder and harder to move, eventually emitting a weak moan as it fell down. Not getting back up, what little was left of the dragon's body instead crumbled into dust, leaving nothing but the skeleton used to bring it back to something resembling life. Gathering around the skeleton, all 7 combatants could hardly believe they killed it.

"Friendly Vex, Vex and Hive working together, a full-fledged Ahamkara back from the dead, and one that can evidently get into a Limbo-Prison dimension. What's next? Cabal ballerinas?" Merikh half-quipped, half-griped at how wildly good-yet-bad today has been. Eliciting a perplexed stare from Midas heavily evident by his body language, everyone else knew the Manticore would come to expect these remarks in time. A group of the silver-plated Vex teleporting in, the entirety of the group were Manticores and Minotaurs, which quickly set about collecting Kulurak's bones.

"If you'd allow us to, my people will hold onto the beast's skeleton. We know the power their bones contain can be harnessed to great effect, so we'd like to show our gratitude for freeing us by fashioning some armor for you from the remains. If you'd permit it, of course." Midas offered, the group of silver Vex having rounded up the bones and began waiting for a response, effectively looking for confirmation that they could take the bones away. Caldwell giving a silent nod of approval, that was all the group of Vex needed as they teleported away in a cloud of smoke and lightning, the bones vanishing with them. "Unfortunately, word from the Gate leading out of this prison is that it's active. That means either the beast had knowledge on how to operate and activate our Gates, or the Darkness-alined Vex truly are working with those bone-creatures that excavated Vudron's Gate and let it in. I advise we make a swift escape once outside of this prison."

_Meanwhile, deep within a Cosmodrome Control Center, Old Russia…_

Kyra's old helmet in hand, Riksis hoped it would be enough to fool Nassik. Kicking open the doors to Nassik's private dwelling, the large command center was heavily populated by Devils and Winter of all sizes, Nassik standing at the far end.

"It's done." Riksis lied, throwing Kyra's helmet to Nassik. Catching it, Nassik inspected the helmet as he thought on Riksis' words. Seemingly unimpressed, this didn't bode well for Riksis.

"That's funny, because I sent a group of Winter Fallen to double-check your work, and they never reported back…" Nassik almost teased, sounding like he was gaining a bit of sadistic pleasure from calling Riksis' lie out. Further backing up the thought that Nassik knew the truth, all the other Fallen in the room slowly began to rise and brandish their weapons.

"Perhaps they got slaughtered by some Vex or Hive on their way there. Either way, you and me have no reason to further this issue. She's dead, that's what you asked for." Riksis insisted, putting up what would be a convincing act if not for what Nassik had to say next.

"Right….Vex and Hive wielding Wire Rifles and able to stomp with the seismic force of an Archon…not to mention the burns that look quite similar to a Shrapnel Launcher the size of yours, Riksis. The followup group also found no body in sight except those of the dead Winter backup. Awfully strange that a dead woman was able to kill an entire group and leave." Nassik pointed out, Riksis realizing that lying was completely and utterly useless. A Captain wielding two Shock Blades starting to slowly advance on him, Riksis considered diplomacy a lost cause, instead seizing the Captain by the head with his upper-left hand. Hurling the Captain into a dysfunctional, large-screen monitor mounted on a pillar nearby, Riksis cut ties with the Devils in an instant. Smashing his foot down to blow away the nearby Dregs, the former Archon ran straight for the glass at the far end of the room. Effectively running at Nassik, the physically-smaller Baron knew a bad fight when he saw it, giving RIksis the right of way as Riksis charged shoulder-first out the window. Doing so intentionally, Riksis landed atop the rusted roof 30 feet down with a resounding crash, one destination in mind as he then leapt off the roof:

_Poland._

Author's Note

Firstly, apologies for the delay, I was going to have this up days ago, but it would've ended right after Midas said they could get the Gate running again because, just from eyeballing it based on the scroll bar (TextEdit doesn't have a word count as far as I know), it looked like the chapter was getting incredibly long. I actually submitted the old document, got all the way to the Add Chapter page, clicked the dropdown to pick the document, and saw it was actually around 2K words _shorter_ than the last chapter. I also realized I didn't have a Chapter title unlike usual, and had to stop and think what the hell I was doing. Between that and the fact that killing Kulurak was going to get bumped off to the next chapter, I literally said "This bullcrap behavior isn't what people are following the story for" and just stopped myself, spent a few days, and added in the Kulurak fight and Riksis' escape. Next chapter's off to Europa for a far-less action-ey, more dialogue and character-development-focused chapter. There'll still be something bad happening, but it's one enemy, not a swarm to be cut down and blown apart, so there are more down-time moments and places for long spurts of dialogue. And plus it'll let me rectify badly underselling the first fan-submitted Guardian I ever got through that shitty, brief appearance in a teaser that only served the purpose of asking people how I should handle a Raid-focused chapter, not exactly smart on my part.

Secondly, the last chapter wasn't _too _bad was it? This might just be my own concerns with no real proof to support them, but when a chapter in an otherwise really well-noticed story like this one gets near-no reviews, and the ones it does get are all vague or unrelated to the specific chapter's content, my first conclusion is that the chapter was just so craptastically bad that nobody even knew where to start on describing how craptastically bad it was. Again, probably nothing but my own paranoia that my work sucks, but still, when a chapter does a bunch of things like introducing a new character (Sivala), new enemies (The Imperial Colossus, which I want to belt my own dumb-ass in the forehead with a shovel for calling an Imperial Goliath. Going to go back and fix that embarrassing blunder sometime soon), and being a part-2 to a previous chapter's setting and kinda continuing its events, my primary concern's that Sivala looks like a shitty, uninteresting character, the Imperial Colossus is a joke of a design, and that the whole chapter was just underwhelming and didn't deliver on what people expect. Hopefully I'm wrong about that, but it's better to just ask and admit it might've under-performed than keep going blissfully unaware of my low-points.

Finally, I'm actually going to finally give names to that Hive Auto-Rifle and the small black spike-throwing SMG next chapter, been putting that shit off way too long. One thing I'll say without waiting for an in-story explanation to deliver it right now is that Vudron, Midas, and all the "friendly" silver Vex, just in case my description was off, are using the same heads as the Precursor Vex from the VOG and the Overmind Minotaur in the Prison of Elders. Obviously the heads for Hobgoblins look different than those for Goblins and Minotaurs, but it's that "Style" out of the three we've seen (Precursor, Descendent, and Normal). Also going to explain how Midas' gun works and why it's got a cylinder stuck to the side of it, which I'll say now is not an ammo supply. All I really need to figure out now is how to jam an ex-Archon inside a Jumpship without making it sound like Jumpships are flying clown-cars.


	11. Arctic Tomb

Chapter 11: Arctic Tomb

_In the remains of Gamayun City, Берег надежды (Coast of Hope), Europa_

Swooping past a large, grey, circular landing pad linked to a skyscraper, Fireteam Komodo was trans-matted out with edgy results. All 7 members popping in a few inches above the surface of the pad at once, the incredible weight generated even just by Midas, Carwyn, and Barrett caused the landing pad to creak and groan in decay. Still miraculously holding up, the landing pad eventually quieted down, leaving Komodo's biggest problem to be the quantities of ice coating the majority of the platform. Most of it being mere rime, more concentrated, thicker collections of ice on the sides of the structure in front of them showed that this process had been ongoing for a very long time.

"_Welcome to Europa…._first time we get a mission from the Cryptarchs, and it's to nearly die on a landing pad just so we can make sure one of their newer members is safe. I get that he's a well-renowned explorer, but with being a well-renowned explorer comes having skills to make sure your own ass isn't found by someone else in a tomb, so what's the concern?" Merikh pointed out, mostly jilted by the fact that he nearly took a forceful fall with a landing pad, 40 floors above the ground.

"They're just wanting to make sure Asyryth's safe, nobody's been on the Coast of Hope since the Collapse. Asyryth's the first in hundreds of years, so virtually every factor in play is an unknown. Grand reputation or not, they're playing it safe rather than sorry to make sure his reputation doesn't end here." Caldwell's Ghost answered, looking around at the scenery as it snapped images for the Vanguard. The particular region they had landed in possessed what was once a sprawling network of skyscrapers mixed in with shorter, wider, almost bunker-like buildings to form an impressive metropolis comparative to Meridian Bay. Even following a similar design style to Meridian Bay, the high-rises were following a predominantly muted blue/grey color scheme, small bits of white writing in English and Russian dotted around standing out despite their weathered state. As for the quality of the buildings, most of the glass on any building in sight had been shattered, and whatever windows conflicts from long ago or incredibly frequent blizzards hadn't smashed in were instead coated over with encrusted snow. Almost like a mummified body, the city was eerily preserved, the exposed office spaces in nearby buildings noticeably lacking any wear and tear, just ice. Much less fortunate was the tall, bulb-ended colony ships in the distance, many protruding through the ice in memorial of their ill-fated escape attempts during the Collapse. Looking back to the building they were about to enter, Caldwell's Ghost quickly picked out the keywords:

_Welcome to Omolon Industries' Gamayun R&amp;D Facility!_, along with its Russian translation, was written above the row of smashed glass doors in the same white paint as other bits of text. Taking the lead to open the glassless metal door frames, Midas did so with a forceful, poignant kick that knocked one door over, the force nearly doing so to a different one as well. Splitting off to the left, Midas' red eye-like chest lenses lit up like a pair of low-power floodlights, helping to give a view at what was inside. Caldwell's Ghost providing more light, they were able to see what looked like an iced-over waiting room. Dead quiet, the room almost seems to have its last moments of occupation preserved in the form of dismembered, deactivated Frames slowly being enveloped by the ice. One split at the hips with its upper half on its back, rifle still in-hand, the Frame seemed to be bisected by a nearby Cleaver, the empty Knight's glove that wielded it still gripping the handle. Another Frame missing its right arm, the majority of its body seemed to be seared by Shredder bolts, while an unfortunate third Frame was just a head, a hand, and numerous little bits and pieces strewn about.

"It's almost like a memorial, or a moment frozen in time…I don't want to say it's beautiful, but I can't deny that the preservation capabilities of ice are impressive." Midas commented, observing the numerous Acolyte and Knight armor pieces strewn about, which indicated these Frames didn't just roll over and die. Grabbing the bisected Frame by the neck, Midas wrenched it free of its icy covering, holding the split Frame up for Caldwell's Ghost to observe. Largely similar to the Frames in use currently, the primarily difference was a muted, dark blue color scheme with the Omolon logo painted onto the chest's upper right. Gripping a similarly colored bullpup rifle, the Frame's weapon visually matched old accounts of experimental Omolon D-90 rifles, which were exclusive to Omolon-employed guards and Frames at the time. Bearing a slight visual resemblance to the experimental Hard Light rifles manufactured in small quantities by the City, it's possible these guns were the base from which Hard Light was conceived.

"Almost reminds me of the archived photos of home I'd get to see…..makes you wonder what would've been different in a happier point in time. Merikh, you Hunters are known to be migratory wanderers, any similar feelings?" Kyra asked, the fact that it was Hive remains almost eliciting sympathy for the humans that these Frames must've been protecting. Finally noticing Kyra's presence since they dropped in, Merikh saw there was a slight armor change. Still no flowing cape like most Vandals, but Kyra's armor now had a large covering of fur similar to some Titans enveloping her shoulder-line and upper chest. In addition, Kyra also now had a bandolier of Shock grenades diagonally crossing over her chest, as well as a second belt with two simple loops to hold Shock Blades that was diagonally crossing over her hips. Drawing another similarity to Titans, this second belt had a ripped chunk of dark red cloth connected to it, similar to a damaged Mark, with the Traveler's logo in white emblazoned on it. Finally, the majority of her outfit's armor plating seemed cleaned up and reinforced with small traces of Plasteel, further incriminating Carwyn past the Mark and fur as having helped Kyra with the redesign.

"Most of my life was spent in a village out in what used to be Iceland. Small community, kinda under the radar and away from all the conflict at the time. I remember I used to listen to the public broadcasts about Guardians all the time, like the push to reclaim our Moon…some of the families would tell their kids horror stories about the countless masses Crota and his generals killed to scare their kids into line. Unfortunately, if you go back there now, there's probably nothing but some vague hints at a village that _used _to be there." Merikh reminisced as Midas dropped the half of a Frame, the group carrying on past some flattened revolving doors towards what seemed to be a massive freight elevator.

"And is that why you fear the Hive? Bad memories of them razing your village and killing your family?" Kyra guessed, likening his story to her own.

"Hell no, the Vex are the ones that found our village, but some Guardians were right on their asses and took them out. I hate the Hive because of what they do to people….see, there's an old Hunter: a legendary one. Goes by the name of Jaren Ward. He's long-dead now, but when I was a kid, about 13 or so, I'd eat up every last tale of Jaren's fight against the Darkness like a fanatic. I idolized him, and then one day, this other Hunter, Dredgen Yor, kills him. Dredgen used to be respectable, but the bastard started to tamper with Hive magic, and it took over. Turned his Hand Cannon into a dark abomination of a gun that seemed almost as deadly as Crota's sword. No remorse, no regret, Dredgen just went and cut Jaren down like nothing. Dredgen eventually got what was coming to him, but ever since the day I heard about Jaren's death, I've hated the Hive. It's just unsettling to think an enemy can twist you so severely without even trying." Merikh clarified, the Fireteam boarding the freight elevator while Caldwell's Ghost reactivated the controls, setting it to descend.

Going quiet over her false guess, Kyra simply made note of the exposition for future reference, finding Merikh to be more relatable than she first thought.

_Now we just need to find out if Barrett's got a soft side….. _Kyra almost chuckled in her head, finding Barrett to be nothing but an immovable wall of force with little depth to him so far. Unconsciously taking the lead when the freight elevator stopped at its destination, 40 floors down, Kyra quickly found herself moving backwards by force. Having calmly stepped off the elevator, the Vandal had walked right into an unknown Warlock, whose first response was to emit a blast of concussive force from his hand in a traditional Warlock melee. Propelling Kyra back past the rest of her team, they quickly stepped in-between her and the Warlock in question.

"Hey, _relax! _The Vandal's with us!" Barrett yelled with his shotgun raised, expecting a more violent, aggressive attitude from the Warlock than he was actually getting. Wielding a seemingly copper-plated Hand Cannon, the Warlock in question was wearing a Locus Watcher V helmet, Dusk Tread IV Gauntlets, Viper Spike IV leg armor, and a set of the few-and-far-between Starfire Protocol robes. Strangely, his Mark was an off-green band with Eris Morn's unique logo projecting from it in the same coloration as the band itself.

"A Vandal, a….some variation of Manticore, any other minions of the Darkness you've gotten control of? The name's Asyryth, by the way." The Warlock inquired, holding his arm out with his elbow bent 90 degrees to point his Hand Cannon at the roof, ready to fire while not presenting an active threat.

"They're not under our control, they're willing accomplices of ours. The Vandal's name is Kyra, and the Manticore is referring to himself as Midas. The City Cryptarchy sent us here to make sure nothing happens to you, if you don't mind." Caldwell introduced, causing Asyryth to lower his weapon to his side, then turn and walk away as he seemed to return to his work. Motioning for the Fireteam to follow, Asyryth summoned his strangely black-colored Ghost, a white stripe going across the top of it to further indicate a custom shell. Kyra being helped up by Carwyn, the group slowly spread out across the room as Asyryth examined an old binder he pulled off a reception desk.

"As I'm sure you saw on your way in, this place used to be an Omolon R&amp;D Facility. From what I've seen at other facilities on Mars and Earth, they've really got a thing for…..erhm, what's a good term for it?" Asyryth struggled, trying to find a professional way to word Omolon's R&amp;D practices.

"Throwing science at the wall and seeing what sticks." Asyryth's Ghost explained for him, trying to spark some life into a nearby fuse-box to Asyryth's left.

"Thanks Daedalus…that about sums it up. The past few Omolon facilities we've been to had at least a few charred-up testing rooms locked off behind lockdown countermeasures, so it's impossible to be war-damage from the Collapse. Whole reason I'm here is we found small bits of evidence at the last Omolon Center, their Meridian Bay department, that suggested this Gamayun facility started to delve into reverse-engineering Fallen and Hive weaponry. I personally doubt they made much progress with reverse-engineering a Boomer or Cleaver's power, but you never know until you go find out. I just hope I've got some good, intact weaponry around here to see what they might've done to it and how they approached it, rather than just a wrecked room after a Boomer decided to, well….go boom." Asyryth elaborated, putting down the binder when Caldwell's Ghost forced entry to a room on the far side, re-activating and then disengaging the lock system. The solid, dark metal door budging up a few inches, the door's systems let off a disheartening, whiney screech before dying from ice damage. Locking the door in place with a 4" gap between the door and the floor, an alternate method was obviously necessary.

"Every goal always has multiple paths to reach it. Here, hold this." Midas suggested as the locking bolts and hinges that kept his Plasma Hammer auto-shotgun bound to his arm undid themselves, followed by Midas passing the weapon to Barrett. Putting away his own weapon, Barrett held the large shotgun in both hands as Midas walked to the jammed door before going into a low squat. Gripping the bottom of the door with both hands, Midas slowly pushed upwards, the door loudly creaking and whining as it was forced along its ice-jammed and decayed track system. Slowly heaving the door the whole way up, Midas proceeded to give the door's underside a solid punch to wedge it past its track system, effectively jamming the door in an open position rather than a closed one like before. With the door indisputably open for the foreseeable future, Midas left his right arm outstretched to receive his gun. Barrett passing it back, the locking systems clicked back in again as Asyryth stared in interest.

"How, exactly, does that weapon system work? If you don't mind me asking." Asyryth inquired, his desire to learn more making it quite hard to ignore the mysterious weapon system.

"The way the system works is there's an external power cell stuck to the left side of the gun." Midas began to explain, gesturing to the cylindrical power cell attached to the gun's left side. "When the trigger is pulled, plasma is ejected from a concealed storage region near the weapon's back end while simultaneously triggering the power cell, which emits a high-powered beam into the gun. Through that beam, the plasma is ionized and effectively weaponized. This intense interaction is caught and guided down a rail system inside the weapon that essentially flings the ionized plasma out in a scatter-pattern of red energy globs. The energy cell doesn't serve as the 'ammo' per se, but it is indisputably necessary for the weapon to operate, and as such is detachable for quick cooldown when the cell overheats from extended use."

"Interesting….hopefully I'll find one of my own to examine eventually." Asyryth commented, mostly to himself as the majority of Komodo entered the newly-opened room. A strange, almost bass-heavy rupture being felt from the roof above them, it was a low-yield rumble that was easy to ignore as the group focused on the new room. Trading the dark greys and blues for a solid white color, the newly-opened room resembled a sterile lab of sorts. Large, disc-shaped multi-bulb lights hung from the roof on movable, metal limbs over solid white tables. Alongside this hung a myriad of other, similar automated limbs ending in needles, saws, drills, and manipulator hands that were swarmed over a variety of Hive or Fallen weaponry. Some manipulators holding the weapons up while others seemed ready to pull or grab at a moment's notice, the entire system looked like it was abruptly cut off mid-procedure by a loss of power. Of the 6 tables in the room, the left half were Fallen weapons while the right half were Hive weapons. "Hm, seems like they didn't get to the Shock Blades yet. Shame, I would've been interested to see what they discover about it."

"Well, perhaps if things go according to plan, a day will come where you could just ask the makers directly." Kyra noted, sliding her upper hands between the series of manipulators holding up a pair of Shock Blades. Thankfully, due to Omolon having not properly gotten to the Blades, there was no significant difference from the pair in Asyryth's personal collection to make him care as Kyra wrenched the blades free. Merely pulling the blades toward her, the creaky joints on the arms gave way and even fell apart, letting Kyra take them without hassle. Lightly dinging one blade on the table, it was evident that the Shock Cores within were completely drained, either through time or minor tinkering frying the Cores themselves. "Well, no power in them…but a blade is a blade, and I'm sure I could just steal some fresh cores off of the Kings at some point."

Sheathing the dead Shock Blades on either hip, Kyra turned to look as their Warlock explorer was examining a pair of the same dark, spike-throwing Hive SMGs they'd seen in recent use. Almost looking like a flat cutlass hand-guard with a protruding barrel near the top, the weapon seemed to lack any conventional ammo insertion despite its more conventional projectile, at least compared to a Shredder or Boomer. Still maintaining a dim glow from Hive runes burned into the hand-guard comprising its front end, a suitable name-tag for the gun was hanging from the mechanical arm/light fixture holding it up: Ripper. Not too dissimilar was the tri-barreled, corrupt Auto-Rifle some Cavaliers used. Largely the same body as the infamous Red Death minus the bayonet, some parts of the body were plated over with the same carapace as the Necrochasm, the sights were replaced by an area to slot in more spikes, and the name became far more ominous from whatever it might've been before: Eviscerator.

"Interesting…..mind if I take these for further study?" Asyryth inquired, wanting to make sure he didn't have a group of righteous, morally conscious Guardians on his hands.

"As long as you make sure not to end up like Dredgen, Toland, or Niro, go right ahead." Caldwell openly permitted, knowing that to slander Asyryth for claiming a pair of Rippers would be hypocritical given Caldwell's own collection of Hive-related items. Daedalus flying over to trans-mat the Rippers into storage, Alvara took a seat on the table's edge just as soon as Asyryth and his Ghost moved away. Nobody noticing the manipulator fixture power itself up, this lack of observance was quickly changed when a manipulator arm reached for Alvara's hood, pulling it right down in a failed attempt to seize her neck. Turning in surprise to face the arm, bigger problems quickly arose as one of the saw-equipped arms made a loud, violent jab for her visor, attempting to split it right open. Lightly grazing and scratching the eye region of her helmet, Alvara was able to grab and restrain the arm, only to receive more retaliation as a needle-equipped arm stuck _her _in the arm. Actually going in one side of her forearm and clean out the other, her response was surprisingly tame.

Letting out a brief pain-yelp, Alvara was having trouble restraining the fixture as more of its various tools came to life, trying to stab, cut, and drill for Alvara's head. Able to slide the needle out of her arm, Alvara quickly pushed away from the table, scrambling backwards in an awkward fall to get out of range. Despite Alvara technically being completely, totally safe from the fixture, its attempt on her life was still reason enough for Barrett to sever the entire fixture from the roof with one well-placed shotgun blast. Crashing against the table it was mounted above, the machine's behavior still made little sense.

"You alright? That needle stuck you pretty good." Barrett inquired, offering a hand to a floor-seated Alvara with his left. Alvara's left hand gripping her previously-punctured right forearm, she seemed to be taking a long, ancient needle getting run through her forearm so badly it came out the other side quite well.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…..that needle definitely hit something, but I've felt worse pain from stubbing my toe before." Alvara almost boasted, conveniently leaving out the fact that her armor was administering painkillers in active response to the breach, something she doesn't have for striking furniture in her City apartment. Eventually accepting Barrett's gesture, the entire group was put on alert as the rest of the manipulator fixtures also came to life, making less successful attempts at eviscerating those standing near them. Now thoroughly concerned, Caldwell had given right over the terminal in the room to his and Asyryth's Ghosts as they tried to deduce what was going on.

"This doesn't make sense….it's as if the fixtures are being remote-controlled from somewhere. A mobile source. And it's…..right here? It's Vex in origin." Daedalus deduced, quickly causing everyone to turn their attention to Midas. Oddly, Midas too had sustained some light scratches from the fixtures coming online, which would make little sense if he were somehow remote-hacking them to life. Midas looking around at the rest of the group, Daedalus thankfully had a followup observation. "It's not coming from Midas. It's…..a second signal, and it's _in _here right now."

"Hey, uh….anyone else just notice the glowin'-ass red light floatin' there?" Barrett pointed out, making a hip-level gesture with his left pointer at a peculiar red light, which was seemingly floating in the doorway. Even more eerily, it seemed to specifically be tracking Merikh as he moved about the room. Breaking the silence, the red light was accompanied by a purple glow not far below it, as well as a pair of curved limbs reminiscent of a crossbow forming near said glow. Obviously being registered as a threat, Merikh dove for cover behind a table as the purple glow fired off like a Void-infused bolt, shattering the glass wall at the room's far end. Merikh getting back up, this caused the red eye to bolt right for him. A seemingly invisible force clutching Merikh's throat, the lanky Hunter was carried off his feet and hurled out the window alongside the red eye, the strange entity dropping him mid-leap. Falling with force and momentum into the overlooked room below, Merikh's resting spot was the glass casing of a server box, thoroughly smashing both the glass and ice as he slammed against it. Collapsing face-down on the floor with his Hand Cannon just by his hand, his telltale groaning thankfully indicated he was still alive. Barrett, Carwyn and Midas being the first to the overlooking room's edge, they first scanned the room below them for their ally, then their enemy.

"Right there, on top of the boxes!" Carwyn called out as he, Barrett, and Midas opened fire, Carwyn doing so with an LMG while Barrett used his Necrochasm rifle. Smashing apart a decent number of server boxes in the room below in the process, the red eye continued to nimbly dodge and weave past their rounds. Almost leaping up to a blasted-open hole near a second-floor catwalk on the room's far end, the red eye quickly fled out of sight.

"That red light was a Mormo, Vex stealth units sent out when the greater collective has a specific individual they want exterminated. Whether it's to take revenge for something that individual has done or to prevent something that hasn't happened yet I sadly can't say, but what I do know is that one's here for somebody. It seems to be aiming for Merikh, but that could very well be a distraction, so stay vigilant." Midas explained, looking around for any signs of the Mormo.

"Is this thing a telekinetic eyeball, or just really fast?" Carwyn asked, also looking around for signs of the red eye while Caldwell and Alvara descended into the room below.

"Its chassis is a hybrid-mix of the Goblin and Hobgoblin designs, along with a few additions. The external plating is fitted with an intricate, nano-woven network of receptors and lenses that allow it to bend light around it with almost perfect results, the only setback being the optic. As it can't apply this technology to its exposed eye, the Mormo is usually perceived as a single, glowing red dot that is seemingly out of place. It can shield the eye with a cover to cloak that too, but this is done at the expense of sight, only allowing the Mormo to see through sonic disturbances in the environment. Its only offensive tools are its strength, agility, and the Void-powered crossbow affixed to the back of the right forearm. They aren't very deadly in an up-front fight, but they're clever, so be wary." Midas laid out, also dropping down from the overlooking room into the server room where Merikh landed.

"I get there's an active threat here, but any smart stalker isn't going to bite if we just sit in a corner with our guns up. There's another set of research rooms further down that Daedalus found in the floorplans, and it correlates with some old emails she dug out of that room up there. All of you help us get there, and maybe this Mormo will try and make a move along the way. Let's just avoid splitting up, and nothing bad should happen." Asyryth suggested, admittedly more concerned with his own discoveries than this Mormo threat.

"Further down? We're _at _ground level." Merikh pointed out as he rolled his right shoulder, referring to the mounds and piles of snow visible outside a window at the room's far end.

"_Now _we are, many years ago there'd be nothing but air outside that window. The floorplans indicated we're on the 42nd floor, the ice and snow just built up over the years to the point where the 42nd floor is the new ground floor." Asyryth clarified, almost sounding a small bit annoyed with Merikh. Despite Merikh's lack of a visible face, it could almost be felt by everyone in the room that he wasn't liking Asyryth very much so far. Not holding onto a grudge, Merikh gave his arm one last move by stretching it behind his head, parallel to his shoulder-line before drawing his Hand Cannon. Making an 'after you' gesture at Asyryth, that was the prodigal Warlock's cue to show them where he wanted to go. Walking past the lanky Hunter, Asyryth summoned Daedalus once more to open a door leading out of the room, taking the lead once more when it opened. "So…..how did your Fireteam get started? Most Guardians don't operate in groups larger than three."

Most likely asking in hopes that Merikh would turn out to be a low-value, recent recruit, Asyryth also struck the conversation to alleviate tension due to Midas and Barrett taking up either flank behind him. Neither one seemed hot-headed or particularly inclined to attack over a bit of animosity between him and Merikh, but it was better to not tempt Fate. Leading the group down a nearly undamaged, creaky, dark grey hallway, the route was dotted by a number of irrelevant side-rooms leading up to the second lift, which would take them down to the 12th floor where Asyryth's goal was located.

"Me and Caldwell formed the Fireteam back when we first met. It was just me and him for a while, then we started running into assignments that needed a bit more muscle, so we eventually found and recruited Barrett. How exactly did that one go again?" Merikh asked, giving the center-focus of the topic to Barrett.

"The way I remember it, you and Caldwell were runnin' in to an old college complex out on Venus, something about Ikora Rey fearing what the House of Winter would find in there. It wasn't the Ishtar Collective, but definitely a group of geniuses that used to live there before the Collapse from what I can recall. You two were getting revived by your Ghosts every five minutes trying different stupid-ass strategies to get in, couldn't even get past the Winter's front-door barricades. Then I turn up from hearing all the gunfire, just out on patrol seeing if I could find any Glimmer deposits, and I see what's going on with them. I get hold of Caldwell, ask their names, and they enlist me to help them knock down the door. Turns out there are some doors that a good slam from the Fists of Havoc can open _real _quick." Barrett chuckled, only not receiving an argument of defense from Merikh and Caldwell because, much to their embarrassment, Barrett wasn't stretching the truth in his own favor. The group boarding the lift before Daedalus set the destination, Merikh's continued spot behind Barrett gave him an urge strike the Titan in the neck, but Merikh's better judgement went against it.

"_Right…_then, a few months after that, we found we were all attack power and no real defense, so Barrett got a recommendation on a Defender from Commander Zavala. That put us in touch with Carwyn, and the _next _problem that arose is we didn't have anyone fast in close-quarters. I came across Alvara passing through the Shipwright's area, asked what kind of Hunter she was, and recruited her from there. It took some convincing for Caldwell to let her join, but I'd say it worked out in the end." Merikh continued, conveniently leaving out the fact that his near-instantaneous attraction to Alvara is what made him recruit her, he simply got lucky to find she had a competent brain and useful, worthwhile skills after the fact. "I don't know what had the bigger impact: The impact of her skills on our performance, or the impact of meeting her two sisters on my personal sanity."

"Oh come on, you get along great with Airada….won't deny something seems to have happened between you and Sivala though." Alvara tried to defend, having to admit there was quite obviously _something _that made Merikh fear and loathe Sivala's presence.

"Airada? I remember hearing that name recently…. she unearthed Toland the Shattered's old Bad Juju rifle from a ritual site on the Moon, along with the bodies of Guardians like Eriana-3 and Vell Tarlowe. She was getting praised for recovering the bodies, yet slammed with endless warnings and what almost seemed to be threats for taking Toland's rifle for herself. I personally see no problem in it, but it's most definitely not helping her case that the rifle quite literally speaks to her." Asyryth commented, having briefly run into the Warlock in question a few days prior.

"_Speaks _to her? I thought my people looked crazy for talking to large, floating balls. Now I hear you Guardians talk to guns?" Kyra repeated, taking a jab at the fact that, technically, her people worshipped giant floating orbs that _they _built long ago.

"If I had to guess, the gun probably emits some kind of signal to match brainwaves and implant thoughts that you know aren't your own, like a sort of subliminal communication." Caldwell theorized, somewhat curious of how it really works. The lift door opening to a wide-open room, the effects of Europa's weather were quite prominent in what used to be an open-air office/lab hybrid. The closer side of the room possessing some frosted-over desks and computer systems hardly walled off by glass panes, the far end of the room was more like an open-air Frame-design area. Specifically, in each 'quadrant' of that half of the room was a variety of different Frame designs, held up in T-Poses by simplistic, metal, rectangle-shaped holders. All following a similar general design, the differences were subtle, some possessing a larger stature than others, as well as different levels of armor and different configurations/designs for said armor. Whereas the closer half of the room merely had some ice coating, the back half with the Frames was almost totally engulfed in solid ice mounds along the back wall, which slowly faded down to just ice-coated flooring as you got closer to the room's center.

"Let's see…looking for a desk 12C. 12C…where is 12…._ah!_" Asyryth said in slight enjoyment, placing his Hand Cannon on the desk to snatch up a small tablet device. Daedalus giving it a small shot of power to boot up, it seemed like Asyryth was on to something. "Here we are…..something about a 'Project: Simulant': concept for a high-powered Fusion Rifle suggested by a Dr. Wüthrich. Looks like it got accepted, but Omolon officials just took his idea and assigned testing and development to an orbital facility near Saturn while Wüthrich was stuck here, developing new Frames dedicated to war. Judging by these logged emails, Wüthrich was _far _from pleased about this, saying he'd finish Projects Goliath and Fenrir before insisting he get transferred to wherever Project: Simulant was being developed."

"Goliath and Fenrir? So they were trying to make a tank and a metal attack dog?" Carwyn noted, Merikh just a second off from explaining that the origin of Goliath was a giant man, not any kind of tank. Two bright floodlights kicking on in a corner of the room, the group turned to face it as various bits and pieces of semi-functional machinery in the room began to light up and stir to life. A trio of double-barreled security turrets emerging from retracted plating on the roof, this came in tandem with a rumbling, heavy set of footsteps clambering into sight. Vaguely resembling a Frame, this one stood a stoic 9', with incredibly thick, armored grey legs and feet that almost seemed to be one with the shins, as well as a wider pelvis to accommodate the extra armor. This trend of more extending to the upper body, the torso had broader shoulders, as well as being completely coated in dense, smooth, dark grey armor plating. Possessing a floodlight on each shoulder, this different Frame design had a recessed head shielded by extra collar-plating, as well as a large, cylindrical tank mounted to its back. Extending from this tank was a belt of Depleted Uranium rounds, which fed into a large, single-barreled repeater in the Frame's hands. As if to answer the question of its identity, the words 'GX-20 Goliath' and an accompanying Russian translation were painted on the back of the Frame's right forearm.

"_Hm, _I guess that Mormo is….._just a __**little **__bit angrier than I first thought._" Asyryth admitted, previously downplaying the Mormo's full capabilities to hack into and reactivate machinery. The Goliath-Class Frame turning its weapon to point at the group, it hardly had a second to fire before, with a sharp, ear-paining crack, its hands disconnected from its forearms. Dropping off without a single bit of hesitation or stalling, ice-damage to the Goliath-Class Frame's joints had left it creaky, weak, and several disadvantaged compared to when it was built. Comedically examining its wrist-stumps, the Goliath-Class Frame was cut down without remorse by a rocket from Caldwell and a series of blasts from Midas' Plasma Hammer. The turrets taking the lead, an audible priming sound could be heard as the turrets trained on their targets, falling short when they tried to maneuver along their roof-mounted track. Literally falling, all three turrets succumbed to the same ice damage as their hinge systems broke, dumping the useless turrets onto the floor and even smashing some of the lab setups. One last trick being up the Mormo's sleeve, a large, quadrupedal machine was seen being hauled in along the same roof-mounted track.

From what they could see, the quadruped possessed a similar torso to the Goliath-Frame, with a similarly recessed head that was bent 90 degrees backwards compared to the Goliath-Frame. With the arms and normal legs replaced by matching, armored, reverse-jointed legs, their design gave the machine what looked to be a stature of 12' in height, and a width of 8' from leg to leg. Dropping from the track as intended, the quadrupedal walker landed with a gruesome crash, ice damage causing its joints to suffer the same fate as the Goliath-Frame. Not capable of sustaining the fall in its weakened state, the quadruped's body fluently disconnected from all four legs in sync, the legs staying upright while the midsection slammed loudly into the floor between said legs. The head and some minuscule gears, bolts, and other parts flying loose on impact, the room was dead quiet aside from the sound of rattling, settling metal junk.

"Is it just me, or did we just watch Mother Nature give the Vex a big '_Up Yours'_?" Merikh half-quipped, half-asked in honesty as the dumbstruck group tried to process what they just witnessed. Obviously done resorting to in-betweens and other indirect means of harming its target, the Mormo revealed its presence with a sharp, punctual strike to Carwyn's upper back, knocking the unprepared Titan right over. Still cloaked aside from its eye, the Mormo was evidently quite fast, gripping Asyryth's throat to hurl him into an office section's glass dividers before immediately whipping an invisible kick to the side of Barrett's helmet. Kyra drawing one dull Shock Blade in hopes of running the Mormo through, this was quickly stopped when the machine grabbed and twisted the Vandal's wrist, Kyra dropping the blade and forcibly falling to her knees. Then knocking the Auto-Rifle from Alvara's hands, the Mormo dropped both Alvara and Caldwell with what was presumably a roundhouse kick, finally knocking Midas' gun arm out of alignment with a well-placed strike. Overlooking its actual target, this was a painful blunder for the Mormo as Merikh stuck it in the lower back with his knife.

Now focused on Merikh, the Mormo gripped Merikh's head before initiating a short-distance teleport to the edge of the room, seeking a solitary fight without interruptions. Popping out near a window overlooking a catwalk in a deactivated reactor room, the Mormo effectively used Merikh to smash the window open, throwing him down onto the catwalk. Getting his footing, Merikh stood and watched as the red eye dropped down, its camo systems flickering, before fading out entirely. Now able to see his would-be assassin, Merikh could see that the Mormo resembled a hornless Hobgoblin/Minotaur hybrid, with the Hobgoblin's left-shoulderpad mirrored onto the right as well. Possessing more advanced, dextrous hands, the Mormo's right forearm also had a grey line down the back cut in like a rail, ending in an opening just behind the hand, which was most likely where the Void-Crossbow was fired from. With bigger, almost Minotaur-like legs, the feet were noticeably different, instead being splayed-out pads designed to stick to walls and ceilings. As for the torso, it was a hybrid design between the Hobgoblin and Minotaur, with a more Hobgoblin-esque upper back, as well as a Minotaur's concealed MindCore. Noticeably, the Mormo's back seemed to have a row of black, almost sparkplug-like protrusions running down the spine, stopping at the Hobgoblin tail it had.

Quick-drawing his Hand Cannon, Merikh had it just as swiftly batted from his hand and down into the recesses of the inactive reactor, forced to fistfight. Not having a definite form, or much unarmed prowess, Merikh instead simply put his hands up like a waiting boxer. The Mormo advancing on him, Merikh lunged for an eye-punch, only to get a sharp knee in the stomach, followed by a strike to the back of the head, and finished off by being thrown into a tumble past the Mormo. The Mormo stomping Merikh's back before he could get upright, this was followed up with a downward-aimed fist striking his lower back. Thankful for the small bits of armor plating he installed after being thwacked around by Cavaliers, Merikh still felt the blow, finding it hard to get up. The Mormo grabbing Merikh's head again with the intention of twisting his neck, Merikh was able to reach out, past the Mormo's abdomen, and pull out his still-embedded knife from the Mormo's lower back. The sudden anomaly-removal making the Mormo drop Merikh, Merikh clumsily and desperately half-rose from a kneeling position to drive his knife into the Mormo's abdomen. Rising just enough to do that before practically falling over again, Merikh could see the streams of Radiolarian fluid seeping from the Mormo's wound.

Using the top of the Mormo's right thigh as a pull-up tool, Merikh withdrew his knife, slamming it into the bottom of the Mormo's chin next. Going haywire, the Mormo punched Merikh off, Merikh taking his knife with him as he collapsed a few feet back from the Vex unit. Its head semi-operational, the Mormo made a furious stride for Merikh, whose reply was to work all his strength into an abdomen-aimed knife toss. Lodging the knife in even deeper than before, this gave the Mormo serious pause. Pushing to his feet as best he could, Merikh stumbled at the Mormo, grabbing hold of his knife to make sure it caused a kill. Stabbing the Mormo two more times, the machine finally slacked up, tipping backwards as Merikh practically went with it.

"You know, for an annoying motherfucker….you're not as ugly as I thought you'd be." Merikh said to the dead Mormo, prying his knife free as Midas' thundering footsteps could be heard coming closer.

"Merikh, _get away from that Mormo!_" Midas called out, sounding extremely urgent as he stopped at the edge of the overlooking glass.

"Midas, didn't you say these things were a cross between a Goblin and a Hobgoblin? Where the hell did _Minotaur _come…" Merikh started to satirically question, hearing a low hum coming from the Mormo's body. Still definitively dead, the increase in heat coming from the Mormo's body, as well as the sharp rate at which said increase was happening, spelt out a problematic moment for Merikh:

_Self-Destruct Sequence_

Trying to clamber away from the Mormo, Merikh's newly-impaired back made it hard for him to get away as the Mormo successfully blew up, causing a low-yield blast that, while not capable of setting off the dormant reactor below them, still blew with enough force to launch Merikh towards the closed door at the end of the catwalk. Slamming into the door with sizable force, Merikh's consciousness started to dim out. Still half-there, Merikh's perception of time was the biggest thing to go, transitioning from seeing a grating-style catwalk floor to…..a chest. A physical, person's chest.

_Caldwell? _Merikh theorized, seeing the chest was dark grey and flat, ruling out Alvara, Midas, and both Titans. Starting to feel his nerves coming back, Merikh could tell he was laying on someone, as if they had him propped up on their lap while they sat in a kneeling position, almost hugging him. Praying it wasn't Caldwell now, Merikh slightly nudged his vision upwards to see a fluffy, full, extensive collar of fur wrapping around the collar-region of whoever held him. Looking even further than that, Merikh could see a series of four glowing, irisless blue eyes staring down at him.

_Kyra?! _Merikh exclaimed in his head, baffled by the fact that he could now feel both of Kyra's left arms, and her lower right arm, all wrapped around his midsection as if to both support him, and try and shake him back into consciousness. Feeling Kyra bury her head into his right shoulder, it was almost bizarre to see this Fallen showing genuine concern for if he were still alive. Bringing his left hand up to pat Kyra's shoulder, Merikh had some characteristically-fitting words to go along with it.

"Be careful, keep this up and I might think you _actually _like me." Merikh spoke up, causing Kyra to pull back and look at him. Not sure at first as to why she pulled back, Merikh soon found it was to give him a strike of her own, hooking the Hunter in the head with her upper-left fist. Thankfully still conscious after that, Merikh got the point quite well as Barrett and Alvara helped him stand up.

"Well, if you're back on your feet, you guys can get going. I'll get Daedalus to give me a line to the Cryptarchs and let them know what's happened, hopefully they extend some appreciation for all of you actually coming out here. Me and Daedalus are just going to look at a few more things, see if I can find any more valuable information or specs for those prototype Frames to send back to the City." Asyryth spoke up, surprisingly thankful despite his previous demeanor towards Merikh. Still not quite 'together' enough to think up a witty retort or meaningful sentence to a stranger like Asyryth, Merikh instead opted for letting Caldwell bid farewell, staying silent as the group split from the prodigal Warlock and back towards the lift out of here.

Author's Note

I'll admit, I've had this chapter done for a little bit. I was holding it off to try and get this one, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 done all before TTK dropped, as well as revising the previous chapters since this is a sort of "Special event". Chapter 12 is partway done, and even though it has been and will be cutting into my sleep schedule (Since I'd rather it cut my sleep schedule than my school schedule), I'm going to continue to do this until I get to the start of TTK, which will be relatively soon. For multi-story fans, what I'm going to do is instead of my one day a week I usually get to write, since I'm cutting into my normal schedule-flow, I'm using Thursday when I normally write to do other stories, and the late-nights the rest of the week to do this, so the other stories aren't going to grind to an even further halt just for this.

Moving on, for this chapter, I'll admit, the group of people that I sorta co-develop this story with kept calling this chapter "The Thing: Vex Edition" because of the arctic environment. As a result, as a counter-jab, I tried to make it slightly more Predator-like (Which, I _am _a big Predator fan, I'd probably do a story for that too if I wasn't worried about screwing it up), hence the Predator reference, even if it is slightly less obvious than most Predator references. Similarly, to push that similar vibe, I intentionally kept the Mormo invisible for most of the chapter, and pulled the rug out by making it a Minotaur/Hobgoblin hybrid rather than a Goblin/Hobgoblin hybrid like you'd be led to believe at first. In addition to that, as a laugh at my own errors, I came up with the Goliath-Class Frame to make fun of me accidentally calling the Imperial Colossus an Imperial Goliath. I hadn't played Destiny in a while at that point, and the legend of David and Goliath made me think "Big Cabal = Goliath, right?", and my hair-brain didn't think to check the Grimoire, but it's fixed now, and this new Frame is to essentially mark a memory in the process of making this story. In addition to the Goliath/Colossus thing, I changed some bits of dialogue, added and changed some things (Such as adding actual armor descriptions back to Chapter 1), and notably changing out Pahanin for Omar Agah when Caldwell mentions Eris' failed Crota attack. I swear on my life I saw some mention somewhere that Pahanin had something to dow with it when first playing The Dark Below, and I could never for the life of me find whatever led me to believe that again, so I just went and changed it to a Hunter I _know _was involved.

Speaking of, next chapter we go for Crota. It'll be different from the in-game Raid both because most people seem to care less about the Crota Raid (I can't even recall the proper name off the top of my head, if that says anything) than the Vault of Glass, and to make Crota more of a character for his brief lifetime. In the actual Raid, he's just kinda…a giant glowing Knight who can whack you dead in one hit, there's no character or interesting aspects like there seems to be with Oryx so far, so it's also to add some of that. Speaking of Oryx, while the TTK campaign will feature more up-front (And in a modified manner from in-game), there IS a very big change I'm going to make compared to in-game for this story. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn't played yet, but just watch the cutscene that plays when you start up the opening Phobos mission. The end implication about the Queen is just….no, not going with that. This story technically broke off from "Canon" a long time ago with everything I've added, I've just tried to be very dedicated to nailing the history and who said/did what prior to the game, but moving forward, I'm effectively going to tie the TTK to an original order of events that will include the friendly Cabal I mentioned, and the last two members of Komodo that haven't been seen yet. I've been getting some praise from the people I'm developing it with for what's to come, but we'll see if the public likes it too.

Speaking of going forward, while the House of Wolves DLC will be featured, it obviously won't be too much since Skolas' reign after breaking free was essentially going around and trying to take Houses. Regardless, you'll get to see him take the Suns, as well as another, new, House of Iron. Remember the Walker event on the Moon being a Noble _Iron _Walker? This is going to show where the House of Exile might've stolen their Walkers from. Because of this, I don't want to share too many details now just in case so there isn't a ton of expectation over it, but I'll be doing something special for Skolas. It relates to LOTP, and set in this same "Alternate" timeline as LOTP, but it's going to be a separate upload I'll alert everyone to when it's up, to make up for how brief Skolas' time in this story will be. Oh, and something I've forgotten to say for 11 chapters now, but the reason for Barrett's speech patterns is his speech is inspired by and basically modeled after the Titan from the Live Action trailers. They're meant to be two different Guardians, but you can effectively get away with picturing that Titan's voice when he speaks.

Asyryth/Daedalus were created by, are owned by, and submitted as a fan-Guardian by Stormhawk99/SarionFryken (Same person, different accounts)


	12. The Death of a Prince

Chapter 12: The Death of a Prince

_Inside Merikh's Apartment, Slums Quarter, The City…._

A week going by since his fight with a Mormo on Europa, Merikh had been temporarily relieved from the Fireteam's activities while he got used to his body's new changes. While a Guardian's Revenant-like nature made recovering from severe injuries easier, Merikh opted to expedite the process with some minor cybernetic implants along the spinal column. Created by Omolon's medical division, the light spinal augmentation is based on research into the design of various Exo chassis. Still able to move around, Merikh was only just able to stand perfectly upright and move uninhibited within the last day, and would soon be put on for a test run. Much to his dismay, who would be offering that test run was the last person he'd want to meet. Hearing the surprisingly high-tech auto-sliding door for his low-budget slum-apartment open, the telltale beep beforehand indicated that whoever it was, they were someone he knew personally that possessed Ghost-ID access.

"_Hey…_.I heard about the spine implants. Omolon didn't charge you through the roof for that, did they?" Sivala's telltale voice could be heard from behind, strangely with an almost meek, wary tone. Actively remembering he'd been keeping his back exposed in recent days after the operation, Merikh turned to face Sivala, even if just to get the implants out of sight. Having no other cybernetic modification, the row of white, overlapping plates running down the length of his back, as well as the small blue light each plate let off, was in stark contrast to Merikh's surprisingly fit, non-worn body. With somewhat tanned skin, Merikh's ridiculous 6'5" stature meant his muscle mass was still visually minuscule and indistinct, contributing to his toothpick-style outline. With brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail, he commonly only left his apartment in full gear to avoid letting his undamaged, albeit definitely adult facial features undermine his ability to be taken seriously.

"They gave it free of charge for finding those Goliath and Fenrir Frame prototypes on Europa, not sure if it was a genuine thank-you or them wanting to use me as a test-rat for the concept. Either way, they told me I'd be out for another week or two without it, so I'm willing to try it. Just wondering, but uh…_what are you doing here?_" Merikh inquired, finding Sivala's appearance following this incident _incredibly _strange. Looking like she was awkwardly running through different ways to speak her mind, this wasn't the ham-fisted, almost bully-like approach he was used to.

"Well, I heard about what happened to your back, and I wasn't sure if you'd be up for seeing me when you were actually down and out, so I waited. Just wanted to…_y'know_…come and make sure you're doing alright." Sivala answered with a sheepish smile, sounding like she was trying desperately to not just choke up and say nothing. Taking note of some of the finer details in Sivala's presentation, Merikh could tell something was glaringly wrong.

"Sivala, we try to avoid each other like a plague here within the City, and when we run into each other out there in the wild, you're almost constantly picking at me and haunting me over the….._incident._ Why the modest presentation and lack of confidence all of a sudden?" Merikh said outright, not buying Sivala's words one bit, the primary giveaway being her attire. Whereas most times Sivala only removed her helmet when traversing the City to hide her flat-chest insecurities behind a bulky chestplate, this time Sivala had chosen to approach him in full civilian attire. Not even opting for a baggy shirt, Sivala had chosen to wear an off-grey, thin tank top and blue/grey camo pants, the first part of which doing nothing but making her physical insecurity more apparent. To make the uncharacteristic behavior even more obvious, Sivala oddly chose to wear flat shoes rather than thick, height-enhancing boots like she usually did on her rare social excursions to combat her other insecurity, her short stature. Little did Merikh know, the reason for such behavior was about to burst out like a live grenade. "Usually you're trying to size yourself up and hide all the things you don't like about yourself, why flip your approach for the person you've probably hated for about…._6 months now?_"

"Yes, I'll admit I've been exceptionally mean to you before, and yes, I'll admit our ability to associate with each other or even look each other in the eye has gotten much, _much _harder since that time we woke up in the same bed after a drunken bender and can't remember anything immediately beforehand, _**but**_…I'm willing to drop that, and any maybes about what we might've done in that time, if you please, _please _help me on this." Sivala almost begged, sounding more desperate than emotionally distraught, as evidenced by her reply being given nearly in one breath.

"Sivala, please, _calm down_. I'm still skeptical of what you're trying to pull me into, but just take a deep breath and tell me what's got _you_ of all people so concerned." Merikh calmed, placing both hands on Sivala's shoulders in response to what he could tell was an obvious, frenetic pitch to hear her out. Leveling out, Sivala took a deep breath and collected herself before giving her pitch a second go.

"Alright…the Vanguard's finally taking Eris seriously, and they're forming a team. They picked another Fireteam called Fireteam Coalition, me, and this Sibuna cultist Komo warned me about after she dealt with him during the Vanguard's Vault of Glass raid. We're going to need a second marksman, and Komo got assigned a job from Cayde to go check out a hydroelectric dam in Iceland. I need someone I know well, and with her taken, you're the only person I know even somewhat well that's a reliable sniper. I'm not exaggerating when I say you're my only option here." Sivala clarified, missing a specific detail Merikh needed.

"A 6-person team formed from different groups sounds like a raiding party. Who is it they're trying to kill?" Merikh asked with a slight bit of hesitation, not sure why Sivala didn't mention it the first time.

"Crota. The Vanguard's sanctioning a second attempt on Crota's life, we need to go right down into the Hellmouth and attack him where his soul resides." Sivala said with that same sheepish expression as before, knowing Merikh had some strong opinions on the Hive. Much to her surprise, Merikh's reaction was not the rejection she was fearing.

""I'll do it." Merikh accepted, now understanding Sivala's concern. According to the VoG report, the construct Atheon was no mere Gate Lord, but at least the team that killed it didn't have a prior track record with it. Crota, on the other hand, has a blood-splattered history with Guardians that ends in the loss of the Moon and many notorious Guardians dead, which does little to instill confidence in knocking on his front door.

"Wait, you _will?_" Sivala's heart nearly skipped a beat, not believing what he said for a moment.

"Yeah, Alvara would be _livid _if you end up dying down there and she finds out I turned down helping you. If you're essentially walking in through Hell's front door, I don't want to see what's going to die if you don't come back out. Just promise me you won't expect me to do anything exceptionally acrobatic, I'd rather not break my back a _second _time this month." Merikh accepted, feeling the need to insert something more on the sarcastic side to remind Sivala who she was asking.

"Thanks Merikh…..and I mean it about forgetting what happened. Even if, well, the whole problem started in the first place because we forgot what happened." Sivala reassured, stepping back before holding back from giving Merikh a friendly back-pat. Instead opting to turn and leave, she noticed an odd new rifle laying on Merikh's table. "Got a new rifle?"

"Häkke sent it over as part of their new Foundry project, said they wanted me to test it. Only name they gave for it was the 'Häkke Test-A', so I take it they're going to want it back when I'm done. Mind if I bring it along for this?" Merikh asked, looking at the tan and orange sniper rifle. Modeled more after ancient, 21st-century firearms than most other manufacturers, the rifle had a simple, easy-to-use design modeled loosely after old anti-materiel rifles. And, as if you forgot whose gun you were using, the company had conveniently painted their name on the gun's left side.

"Go right ahead, I'm just glad to have you along. I mean that." Sivala said with a soft smile, much more level than when she came in. Turning to leave, Sivala stopped with one last bit of info when she reached the door. "Just head up to the Tower when you're ready, we'll be meeting with the rest of the team up there before settling on where to drop on the Moon."

_Later, on the far side of the Hellmouth, Earth's Moon….._

Trans-matting out of his ship at an angle, Merikh's descent to be with his fireteam allies started halfway down a small hill, the Hunter awkwardly skittering down the dusty mound while trying to stay upright. Almost laying against the hill as he slid down, the Hunter thankfully fared better than his time on the steps of Raylik's domain, actually stopping at the base of the hill with his feet still below his head. Summoning his Ghost in its new, vibrant Turquoise shell, there was some small explaining to be done as he moved to group up with the others.

"So, miscalculation? Or did you _intentionally_ set the drop a few feet back just to see if I hadn't lost it _that_ fast?" Merikh asked with a sarcastic tone, looking right at his Ghost floating above his open left hand. His new Häkke test sniper on his back, Merikh was stuck using a Zero Point LOTP Scout Rifle, which he'd heard from other users of the weapon had a varying level of performance. Sometimes it was great, other times it was average at best.

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't losing your edge…how are you going to avoid being torn up by Thralls if you can't _slide down a hill?_" Merikh's Ghost answered with equal sarcasm, spinning in place to look at the other raid-team members as Merikh got closer. Sivala was seated on a nearby rock, same armor configuration and color as their last meet in Germany as she held a brand-new SUROS ARI-45 Auto Rifle with an attached SPO-28 holo-sight. Just next to her was the all-female Fireteam Coalition that had been assigned onto this Raid, the Titan and Warlock of the group conversing with Sivala while the Osiris Champion Sibuna merely stood around, completely disinterested. Seeing Merikh come up, Sivala made a small hand gesture towards the group, prompting the rest of the Raid team to move further down the hill.

"Ready for this? That charmer Sibuna's not exactly making things any easier." Merikh passively jabbed, finding Sibuna's near-silent nature and vocoded voice whenever he _did _speak to be irritatingly secretive.

"Well, Crota's especially got a track record with being tied to the events that killed Titans like Wei Ning and Vell Tarlowe, so that's not exactly reassuring. Aside from that, my only concern's if the gun Suros offered to replace my Regime is any good." Sivala answered, making sure her Auto Rifle's safety was off as the two Guardians descended the hill. Coming to a stop near the edge of the Hellmouth, there seemed to be nothing in sight except an ornate floor-plate and the deep abyss in front of them.

"If this is supposed to be our entry point, we're going to need a _lot _of Light running through us to soften the fall. Either that, or a _very _long ladder." Diana Hadrian, the Defender Titan leader of Coalition pointed out, throwing a small rock into the gaping Hellmouth. Much to Merikh's confusion upon first seeing them, each of the members of Fireteam Coalition had almost 'cheated the system', each possessing multiple pieces of Exotic armor. In Hadrian's case, she was equipped with a Crest of Alpha Lupi, Iron Breed Greaves, Iron Breed Gauntlets, and a replica of Saint-14's helmet, a favorite among Defenders. Carrying a SUROS Regime much like Sivala used to, Hadrian's Goldspiral-colored armor was marked off by her usage of the Mark of the Six Fronts, possibly as a proverbial middle-finger to Crota for the Titans he's killed. While the Six Fronts wasn't a battle Crota was involved in, the Mark was still a commemoration of the strength Titans could exhibit. Looking back at the rest of the team, it seemed like Sibuna and Merikh had found their way down once they stepped on the ornamental center plate.

"I think…._we just found a gateway._" Merikh's Ghost said with a mix of concern and intrigue at the increase in dark energy, watching as a bridge began to form. Stretching out to around the Hellmouth's mid-point, the misty, green energy in the shape of a bridge began to condense more and more until it emitted a flash of light, finally condensing into a solid, grey bridge. Matching the same Hive architectural standards as any other Hive location, the bridge was two tones of grey with jagged, rigid edges, ending in what looked to be a round platform at the bridge's far end.

"I'm….not seeing your ladder Diana. Not exactly seeing any stairs, a transmat system, or a lift field either. Think it's an elevator platform?" Phoenix-7, Coalition's Warlock pointed out, noticing that the 'bridge' was just a circular platform over a gaping abyss. Keeping the trend going, Phoenix was wearing the Light Beyond Nemesis helmet, the Nothing Manacles, Iron Breed Robes, Iron Breed Boots, the Fellwinter's Iron bond, and colored it all with the Million-Million shader.

"Well, let's go take a closer look. I vote Sibuna take point, being a _champion _of Osiris and all." Sivala suggested along with gesturing the barrel-end of her gun towards the bridge. While she wouldn't explicitly fire upon or otherwise try to kill Sibuna directly, she certainly wouldn't mind him being the one to find out if it's a trap. Drawing his Astral Horizon shotgun, Sibuna walked seemingly without fear or concern, coming to the circular portion of the bridge before signaling for everyone to advance.

"And it's…a hole. Nothing but a nice little port-hole to a deadly fall. Not really striking me as an elevator either." Merikh commented, stamping one foot while on the circular platform for comedic emphasis about it not being an elevator. Trans-matting itself out, Merikh's Ghost scanned the rim of the circular hole for a moment, obviously onto something.

"Well, it's no elevator, but it _does _seem like a lift…sort of. I'm detecting incredibly strong dark energy readings coming off the circumference of this hole that go all the way down to the bottom of the Hellmouth, it's probably how the Hive get straight to the bottom without smashing into dust. If I processed it correctly, it negates the velocity of the drop so long as you impact the floor within that field, so stay within the circle and you could drop off a fall spanning from Earth to Mars and live. Theoretically, it _should _work for us too." Merikh's Ghost observed, its plates twisting and flexing as it obviously tried to plot out the possible outcomes.

"_Theoretically? _I'm short enough as it is, I don't need my thigh-bones coming out my mouth just because this _theoretically _would've worked." Sivala repeated with a mixed tone of sarcasm and concern. While she promised to quit picking at Merikh, picking at Merikh's Ghost in the face of what might as well be being told to go jump off a cliff was still fair game. Evidently getting impatient with the bickering, Sibuna muscled his way past Sivala and Phoenix-7 before, shotgun still in hand, stepping off the edge and through the hole. Going down with legs straight and his shotgun held at a diagonal against his chest, Sibuna's bullet-style orientation showed he was aiming for speed and force.

"You know, I've seen the remains of a few old military orbital-drop shock trooper regiments from the beginning of the Collapse that used dropping feet-first into hell as a motto…Sibuna just did it as a literal." Merikh pointed out, the entirety of Fireteam Coalition going next in a similar manner. Looking over at Sivala, Merikh was obviously expecting her to go first.

"Hey, height before beauty." Sivala joked, taking an obvious spin on the phrase as she gestured for Merikh to go first. Not arguing, Merikh stepped off into the hole like the rest, though his descent was going much differently. Possibly because of his taller stature than the rest of the team, Merikh began unintentionally drifting off-course from the 'circle' of dark energy his Ghost mentioned, starting to panic due to his inability to correct his position.

"_Move back! _We're drifting way too far off-course!" Merikh's Ghost yelled at him, unfortunately not able to do much more than Merikh himself in this scenario.

"The hell do you _expect _me to do?! Grab my cloak and stretch it out to glide down like I'm god damn Batm-" Merikh began to argue back, not noticing the floor as he slammed face-first into it, dead on impact. Seeing nothing but black, whatever strange state of consciousness or being Merikh was in was brought to an end as his body was reformed. Finding he had landed in an area with pitch black, ankle-deep water, Merikh was surprised to see that the person who got to him wasn't Sivala, but Junko, Fireteam Coalition's Hunter and Marksman. Despite hardly knowing the slightest thing about her, Merikh still accepted the open-hand offer to be helped up. "Thanks for the revive…not sure what went wrong with the drop. Now we just need to find a way into wherever Crota's….hiding….."

"I would say it's not a problem, but your landing looks like it's stirred up a different issue here…." Junko pointed out, hoping the rest of the team wasn't far off. Much like Hadrian, Junko possessed two Exotic armor pieces, wearing the Celestial Nighthawk helmet, Iron Breed Gauntlets, the Bones of Eao, the Crest of Alpha Lupi, and the Mark of Perun cloak, all in Million-Million coloration.

As for their predicament, things were steadily getting worse as the sound of chittering and clattering bone could be heard increasing in volume, a larger and larger horde of Thralls emerging from the shallow water they stood in. Belonging to the Spawn of Crota, these Thralls actually had the trio of glowing green eyes that most Thralls lacked, making for a horde of green tri-lights staring at them through the darkness. Slowly advancing, the Thralls weren't quite in full-on rage mode yet as they closed in on the two Hunters. Knowing that a single gunshot would change that, both Hunters were looking for a route out when a Thermite Grenade landed amidst the Thralls, the initial blast clearing out a decent number of them. Seeing it as a chance to run, the two Hunters took the far route around a large rock as the Thralls went berserk, running and screaming in force at wherever the Thermite Grenade came from. Almost certain Sivala was still a Striker, it came as no surprise when the rest of the team was in sight, Sibuna's incineration of a Thrall with proving that he was the Sunbreaker in question. A few insignificant Thralls on their tail, the two Hunters found the Thralls abandoned the chase when they reached the golden, almost glowing circular platform the rest of the team stood on.

"If you're done falling off course and needing me to save you, we think we might've found a way through." Sibuna almost insulted, shoving Junko along and practically grabbing the scruff of Merikh's neck before giving him a forceful push over to where Sivala and Phoenix were. Only keeping his frustration to himself due to the seriousness of the current situation, Merikh regardless shared Sivala's lack of concern for Sibuna's life now. Moving over to where Phoenix's Ghost was, it turned out the Ghost was examining an unusual, almost exalted Cleaver lodged into a pedestal of sorts.

"If I'm examining this correctly, these blades aren't just Cleavers, they're special Ascendant Blades. Visually similar, though very different in power and capability. Eris gave Toland's old journal to Phoenix for this mission, so let me see if there's anything on these specific blades in it." Phoenix's Ghost explained, its plates splitting apart and rotating around a glowing blue orb as the Ghost itself effectively became a radial speaker.

"The Hive live and breathe by the blade, it's a shaping aspect of their very lives and culture. Knights don't use Cleavers just to show they're braver than you, they use it out of admiration for the blade, like they feel it's a divine tool of their King's will. In my studies of the Hive, I've seen repeated mentions of the word 'Oryx' and 'Willbreaker' in reference to these Ascendant blades. Do the Hive call them Willbreakers, or is WIllbreaker a special Cleaver owned by Oryx? I suspect it might be the latter, as the power these blades seem to have over lesser Hive and the world itself is constantly referred to as being less than Willbreaker, possibly implying the blades can have varying levels of power. Whatever the case may be, he who wields the power of the Ascendant Blade wields unconditional authority over all but the Ogres and Ascendant Hive. It also seems like Ascendant Blades are the only way to kill the Ascendant without being one yourself. I guess nobody ever thought the Blades would be turned on their owners, huh?" An unusually accurate representation of Toland's voice played as Phoenix's Ghost recited a logged passage from the journal, almost as if it were Toland himself reading it.

"So basically we need to rip this sword from the stone, and then we can walk through this cavern and find Crota without the Thralls interfering?" Merikh suggested, making sure he understood that right.

"Well, the blade seems like its existence is rooted to the pedestal. I'm sure we can remove it for a short period, but eventually the blade will forcefully relocate back to this location. Inside Toland's Journal are some sketched-out drawings and taped-in Ghost images of what look like some fairly regal Knights that he kept calling Gatekeepers. According to him, they're past the threshold of power to be considered Ascendant, even if they're not as scary as Crota. Assuming Toland translated some Hive runes correctly, it claims that the Gatekeepers 'Hid their deaths in the blades of their brothers'. Point I'm getting at here is if you see a more regal than average Knight, we're going to need to kill it with this blade and take his in order to keep going, bullets won't work." Phoenix's Ghost elaborated, prompting Sibuna to grip the handle of the Ascendant Blade, bracing one foot on the pedestal as he pulled back, wrenching the large god-Cleaver free. Almost able to feel the aura of dark power emanating around Sibuna like a bubble, the Fireteam reluctantly grouped up close behind him, following the Osiris Champion's lead as he walked along the grey trail in front of them.

"This doesn't feel like it should work, but it is…it's like they don't see us." Merikh's Ghost noted, appearing over Merikh's shoulder to look around as hordes of Thrall aimlessly wandered, seemingly blind to their presence. On top of that, whenever a Thrall wandered onto the path, the very feeling of the blade's aura coupled with Sibuna's intentions of getting through seemed to silently will the Thralls away, causing them to scatter and run in any conceivable direction off the path. Simply walking with the blade resting on his right shoulder, Sibuna's unknown intentions and secretive nature felt like it cast an ever darker aura on his Fireteam allies, the blade latching onto this divide between him and them and almost amplifying it.

"I always thought the sounds of screaming Thralls was the scariest thing you could hear from the Hive. Now, I'm starting to wonder if the sound of docile Thralls isn't scarier." Merikh commented on the chittering and clattering noises of the Thralls, trying to break the dreadful silence Sibuna was casting on them. Not doing a very good job, the breakup of ominous silence was achieved much more effectively by the arrival of an average-sized Knight. Normally not a big deal, this one's body was radiating an internal green glow, which burned through the cracks and splits in its armor. Normal assortment of eyes for a Knight, the distinguishing features were the addition of small rings embedded into the back and shoulders, long strips of a dark green cloth hanging off them with Hive symbols drawn down the length of each strip, as well as burning green Hive symbols on the backs of the gauntlets and the front of its shin and thigh-guards. Dragging along a single Cleaver, its blade was emanating a light trace of green fire, as well as the sides of the blade being emblazoned with the same lines of Hive runes as its cloth strips. Matched up with the records in Toland's Journal, it was one of the aforementioned Gatekeepers. Not oblivious to the Fireteam's presence, the Gatekeeper's first move was to raise its Cleaver, actually taking a two-handed stance unlike most Knights.

"That's…..not good. I hope you can use that thing properly." Sivala half-taunted, half-genuinely hoped as she patted Sibuna on the back, only holding fire because, as Phoenix's Ghost said earlier, to do so against a Gatekeeper is completely pointless. Running forward, the sword fight turned into an awkward dodge-game for the rest of the Fireteam as they tried to not get hacked up, yet also stay within range of the anti-Thrall aura. Swinging his Cleaver at a diagonally left-upward angle, Sibuna's blade collided against the Gatekeeper's with an unpleasant screech, long-aged Hadium grinding against long-aged Hadium like nails on a very big, very deadly chalkboard. Forcing the Gatekeeper's blade off to end the standstill, Sibuna heaved the Cleaver up before embedding it in the Gatekeeper's shoulder, getting it lodged in the shoulder-plating. Pulling back to slide the Cleaver out, Sibuna swung the blade in a down-to-up motion, lightly splitting the Gatekeeper's face down the middle. Following it up with a downward slam, this was the killing strike as the Cleaver became lodged in the Gatekeeper's head, the beast dropping its blade as it strangely stayed in one piece. Falling backwards as Sibuna merely pushed on his Cleaver, the Gatekeeper stayed together while the green fire died out, completely devoid of any life or un-life.

"As much as you've proven your Cleaver proficiency, I think everyone'll be happier if _anyone _but you takes the next one." Sivala figured, grabbing the Gatekeeper's Cleaver before Sibuna could take it. Now the technical Swordbearer, Sibuna's largely-silent nature left no opposition as they hurried further, coming to a dusty, eery drop-off into a lower chamber. Still being ignored by the Thralls, an ominous aura could be felt emanating from the room below that seemed to keep Thralls away all on its own.

"Looks like some kind of gateway chamber….and it's even got some Gatekeepers watching over it. If I'm putting 2 and 2 together correctly here, a Gatekeeper's sword is how we'll be getting through, but…..the frequencies given off by the sword we have don't match up with the gateway frame at the far end of the chamber. Maybe one of theirs is the right one?" Phoenix's Ghost assumed, looking around at the chamber below them. Consisting of a large, half-circular room reminiscent of an auditorium, the far end had a large, golden gateway frame reminiscent of a kind of deactivated portal. Adorned around that were numerous long, weathered red flags possessing Crota's distinctive logo, as well as the same icon scratched into some of the other walls at the room's far edges. Also spread around the room were a trio of large Hadium Thrall statues, each one with its hands clasped together like it were holding a blade. A pedestal similar to the one back at the path entrance seen in front of each statue, these pedestals were lit up in different colors, one purple, one orange, and one blue. At the room's center, down on their knees with hands on their thighs in a sort of meditative state were three Gatekeepers, each one's armor lightly glowing in a different hue to correspond to three elements: Solar, Void, and Arc. Sivala just about ready to move in, she was stopped when Phoenix's Ghost had something more to add. "Look at the shield hues on those Gatekeepers: Arc, Void, and Solar, and they match up with the three Thrall statues around the room. Think their blades match up like keys here?"

"So kill a Gatekeeper and stick his blade in the right pedestal? Sounds fairly easy….." Sivala figured, the Fireteam thankfully still not noticed by the Gatekeepers.

"You kill the middle one and I'll come in to get his blade. Move on to one of the others if your blade's still around and Phoenix will come in to grab that one. If you can kill the third, good, but if not, Phoenix, turn on the third Gatekeeper before you plant your Blade in a pedestal. Merikh and Junko, hang back here and peg the Gatekeepers with sniper fire. Won't kill them, but I'm sure they'll still get annoyed and have their attention drawn off Sivala by the impact. As for you Sibuna, just…don't get killed so you can get the third blade." Hadrian directed, admittedly at a loss for what to say to Sibuna. She didn't possess any fear of or resentment for the Osiris faction or Sunbreakers, and was actually quite happy that Sibuna's inclusion marked a first step in trying to mend the gap between Sunbreakers and the City, but she couldn't deny Sibuna's behavior left quite a bit to be desired. With the game plan settled, Sivala enacted the opening move by running in a dead-on line for the middle Gatekeeper, doing a leaping overhead slam with her Cleaver when she reached him. Impacting along the spinal cord, the Cleaver slam wasn't enough to kill the Gatekeeper, but certainly enough to slow it down. Rising from its on-knees position as it snatched up its own blade from what looked to be a Solar rupture, the Gatekeeper gave Sivala only enough time to wrench her Cleaver free from its back before it made a 180-degree spin-swing. Not sure whether to be overjoyed or annoyed, it seemed that the Gatekeeper was expecting someone taller, as even standing at full height, Sivala didn't have to duck since the Gatekeeper swung a good 6" above her head.

Throwing out a counter-swing, Sivala wasn't quite used to the weight of the weapon, her swing causing more of a deep gash in the Gatekeeper's abdomen as it flew right through rather than getting properly embedded in something. The Gatekeeper obviously wounded by the swing, it nonetheless carried on, attempting a one-handed downward slam with its blade. Blocking the slam, the force of it was still obviously something to take note of, Sivala's two-handed blocking stance not being enough to keep her from being forced into a kneel. Turning her Cleaver to point directly at the Gatekeeper, Sivala ran the beast through as she rose from her kneeling position, piercing just under the Gatekeeper's chest armor. Having been the Solar-shielded Gatekeeper, this one's body actually disintegrated, albeit in an orange, fiery glow rather than the traditional crumbling to dust. Hadrian sliding in to claim the Gatekeeper's blade, it was now on her to kill the second Gatekeeper, Sivala's Cleaver glowing bright white before suddenly vanishing from her hands. Both Titans looking around for where the other Gatekeepers had gone, the Void one appeared at the room's far end in a burst of purple Void-fire, bringing with it a trio of Marauders with glowing purple eyes rather than the traditional green.

Ignoring the Marauders, Hadrian leapt at the Gatekeeper, her Cleaver harmlessly bouncing off its shield. Confused, Hadrian nonetheless backpedaled as the Gatekeeper made an attempt at lopping her head off, this one obviously having something more to it. The Gatekeeper evidently hanging back unless provoked, it let its three Marauders push and actively engage the Guardians, which drew Merikh and Junko's attention. Having not fired on the first Gatekeeper for fear of hitting Sivala, Junko put a round straight through the middle eye of one Marauder, causing it to stumble. Turning its Necrochasm rifle on her, it hardly got the opportunity to fire before Merikh landed a round in the same spot, giving Junko time to fire a third shot and make the Marauder disintegrate in a purple hue. A bolt of purple fire leaping from the Marauder's body over to the Gatekeeper, this seemed to have a negative effect on the Gatekeeper. The large Hive creature stopping as it placed its free hand over its upper chest, the Gatekeeper's armor plating was covered in purple fire, prompting Hadrian to take another swing at it. Her swing actually doing something this time, the death of the Gatekeeper's Marauders seemed like it had a strange backlash effect on the Gatekeeper's otherwise impenetrable shield.

Demonstrating more familiarity with Cleavers than Sivala did, Hadrian used the momentum of each swing to transition into her next swing, assaulting the Gatekeeper with three consecutive strikes before slamming her Cleaver into the floor. Causing a tiny radial blast, the Cleaver slam pushed the Gatekeeper back slightly, to which the Gatekeeper rushed forward for a slam of its own. Hadrian leaping forward much like Sivala did at the beginning of this fight, she and the Gatekeeper both tried to vertically split their opponent. The Gatekeeper's blade hitting the floor first, this one died much like the first one, Hadrian's Cleaver cracking through its armored helmet. The blade actually coming to rest right through the Gatekeeper's middle eye, Hadrian placed one foot on the Gatekeeper's chest, pulling her Cleaver free as the Gatekeeper's body lit up in a purple funeral pyre. Wasting no time in turning the Cleaver upside down and driving it through the left pedestal, Hadrian stepped back as the statue's cracks and crevices lit up orange, evidently working as intended. That third of the room also getting an orange hue running through it, not much more time could be spent admiring the scenery as bolts of Arc energy began to strike near the center pedestal. Lacking the black smoke that always preceded a Vex intrusion, this was shown to be something else as the third Gatekeeper emerged in a sharp, concentrated blast of Arc bolts. Immediately hurling its Cleaver at Phoenix when she claimed the Void Gatekeeper's Cleaver, the thrown blade behaved in an unusual manner.

Rather than spin vertically and lodge itself in something, this Cleaver became enveloped in a thick storm of Arc power, spinning in a horizontal circle as it went out in a straight line before coming right back to its wielder along the same path. Phoenix diving out of the Cleaver's way, this one proved to be more of a problem due to the Gatekeeper not spawning in with any accompanying Marauders like the last one. The Gatekeeper tossing its Cleaver once more, this helpless process of run and dodge carried on three more times until Merikh's Ghost had finally discovered a weakness through attentive, albeit distant observation.

"Hold on, it seems like every time the Gatekeeper flings that Cleaver, he's relying on a very weak, easily forced connection to draw it back. If you swing at the blade when it's close, you might be able to preemptively send it back and cause some damage." Merikh's Ghost suggested, analyzing the energy fluctuations emitted by the flying Cleaver. Chancing it, Phoenix did a simple up-to-down vertical swing just as the flying Cleaver came close, swatting it right back at its owner. Her own Cleaver beginning to crackle with Arc energy, Phoenix tossed the Cleaver to Hadrian, trusting her more with the weapon after the last Gatekeeper's demise. Defying direction, Sibuna made an unexpected and undesired move, intercepting the Arc-charged Cleaver before it could reach Hadrian. Rushing at the Gatekeeper, Sibuna leapt up, going for a horizontal midair slash aimed at the Gatekeeper's neck, only to badly gash the front of its face. Actually severing the Gatekeeper's right arm with a followup swing, Sibuna was halted in his frenetic assault when the Gatekeeper gripped Sibuna by the neck with its remaining hand. Ready to chokeslam the secretive Titan, the Gatekeeper's immunity to non-Ascendant Blade attacks didn't prevent it from feeling the force of Sivala ramming shoulder-first into its lower back. Not actually inflicting any damage, the shoulder charge still did enough to make the Gatekeeper let go of Sibuna, the Osiris Champion actually claiming the Arc Gatekeeper's sword instead of the Void one. Sivala moving to ensure the Void Gatekeeper's blade didn't vanish, she was the closest to bear witness as Sibuna jumped up just in front of the Gatekeeper, doing a vertical down-to-up swing with much, much different results than the last one. Unlike the Void Gatekeeper's death, swinging the blade down-to-up instead of up-to-down caused SIbuna to encounter much less resistance, successfully bisecting the Gatekeeper as it disintegrated in a storm of Arc energy.

"I appreciate killing the Gatekeeper, but the hell was _that?_ _You _were supposed to grab the third Cleaver, not intercept the second one and take on the Arc Gatekeeper on your-" Sivala tried to scold, being abruptly shoved away as Sibuna walked to plant his Arc Cleaver in its respective pedestal at the center of the room. Waiting for Sivala to plant her Void Cleaver first, the completion of this Cleaver trifecta was signified by the three colors blending together into a green hue, this same green light turning into green fire as it ran through the cracks and gaps in the portal-frame at the back of the room. A green orb forming in the center of the portal-frame, it quickly made a small turn before exploding, generating a flowing Rupture within the frame.

"Hm, according to Toland's Journal, these 'Ruptures' are usually only traversable if you're an Ascendant Hive. Let's see if using Ascendant Blades to turn it on changes anything." Phoenix's Ghost informed, not 100% sure that this would work. Everyone except Sivala and Junko passing through, the two Guardians lingered for a moment as the Hunter had something to say.

"You know my father pretty well, right? What do you think he'd have to say when the after-action report on this Raid gets turned in and Sibuna's behavior is put in front of him?" Junko asked, curious about what viewpoint an actual Titan who associates with Commander Zavala on a professional level would think he'll do.

"Yeah, I know him pretty well, his family and mine came to the City on the same ship. He died and came back as a Guardian before I did, but that didn't really change much. Granted, most people seem to think I know him on a _whole _different level than I actually do." Sivala confirmed, the last part of her answer referring to non-Guardian City residents who incorrectly assumed that Sivala was Zavala's daughter, unlike how Junko actually is. The assumption usually being based in the fact that their names both end in -vala, it has grown to be quite the repetitive process telling every Citygoer that, much like John and Jane, Zavala and Sivala were just the masculine and feminine versions of the same name, nothing implying blood connection. As Sivala has said time and time again, even though their families came to the City at the same time, there was absolutely 0 genetic connection between them outside of both being Awoken, not even distant cousins or anything of the sort. "As for what he'd do with Sibuna, technically Sibuna's not directly under his authority with the whole Osiris thing, but he'd probably put these relationship-establishing efforts between the City and Osiris into question. Kind of a shame, he was actually going to publicly share that we've even been reaching out to Osiris kinda soon, probably won't now."

Knowing they'd need to go through the Rupture sooner or later, the two Guardians walked through, emerging on the other side to what felt like a completely different world. In a large temple-style structure, the ominously massive room had more hanging flags with Crota's logo, as well as two pools of black water at the far left and right ends of the room's near side. A long staircase starting at just beyond the middle of the room, it reached up to a flat top and a dead end at the back of the room, which was the location of a suspicious throne. Giving off an appearance similar to a jagged, black rock throne, the fact that it was made of Hadium implied it served as more than purely a seat, possibly as some form of energy siphoning. To support that, seated in the chair was a massive Knight, probably 13' in stature. Unlike the traditional Knight helmet, this Knight's helmet possessed jagged, rock-like protrusions emerging off to the left and right, giving an image similar to a crude crown. Also having a Cavalier's mouth-guard, the Knight had a more ornate, longer, and mirror-matched version of the Cavalier's 'mark' that covered the left hip as well rather than just the right one. Even having the embedded rings with cloth strips lodged into its shoulders and back, this Knight's cloth strips were red rather than green, and the shoulder armor stretched out further past the arms, implying a higher-ranking Ascendant than the Gatekeepers.

Strangest of all was the fact that it merely sat there, slouched back in the throne with its right arm on the arm-rest. The Knight's clenched right fist pointing straight up to support its right-side-leaning head, the Knight's eyes weren't even glowing, implying that the Knight was dormant or asleep in some way. Merikh's Ghost and Phoenix's Ghost both darting off to scan the Knight, the results they came back with were expected, but unpleasant. One having scanned the Knight itself while the other scanned the large, black Cleaver embedded in a pedestal in front of the throne, the two entities were quite heavily associated.

"Well, we found him….that's Crota. Dead, asleep, whatever kind of a state he's in, he's not giving off any kind of life signs or energy signatures, not even dark magic, and it seems like he's been that way for a _long _time. Maybe even since shortly after Eris' Fireteam failed to kill him." Merikh's Ghost explained, instantly skyrocketing the tension of the situation now that everyone knew they were sharing a room with the Son of Oryx. While Phoenix's Ghost turned to explaining its scans, Merikh's Ghost began to emit a radial pulse, obviously checking for something.

"And that Cleaver is most definitely Dreadbringer, the infamous sword that claimed the Moon and killed more Guardians than I'd like to count. It vanished after another Guardian found it in the Temple of Crota, I guess this is where it ended up. Still burning with the Light of the Guardians it's killed, if anyone wanted to know." Phoenix's Ghost followed up, setting the situation up to be worse and worse with every passing moment.

"Strange….no signs of Alak-Hul or Verok. According to Eris, they were both there when her team died, so I'd imagine they would be here." Merikh's Ghost noted, ceasing its radial pulse as all attention turned to a large, black crystal that was embedded in the roof of the room, right over the center. Cracking apart loudly, the crystal began to lower more and more, seeming more like it was slipping free rather than intentionally descending. Eventually slipping free entirely, the large black crystal slammed into the central plate engraved with Crota's logo, shattering to pieces and leaving a figure in its place. Face-down, the being was about human-sized, and lacking any kind of traditional Hive armor. Instead, the being had what almost resembled the Heart of the Praxic Fire, only the normally metal collar-piece was now a leather-like cloth, and all color in the armor had been bled to a jet black color. In addition to that, the being had a black hood raised over its head, and somewhat loose, black cloth-wrapping over the forearms and palms instead of typical Warlock gauntlets, the fingers being unusually bony and decrepit. The mystery figure slowly rising to its feet, it was now possible to see the being's feet still possessed five toes, but that they were now almost chitinous and armor-plated instead of covered by a traditional boot. To top it off, the figure had a black veil covering its face from the nose down, leaving only a scalded, stripped-clean, ash-grey skull with three glowing white eyes in the traditional Hive tri-formation.

"Wait…this isn't right. That thing's giving off Light, not Darkness. I'm not detecting any natural life signs or organ function, but a _very _strong Light emission matching….._Niro?!_" Merikh's Ghost exclaimed, matching the being's Light to an old Swedish Sunsinger named Niro. Thought to have been lost during the Vanguard's failed attempt at retaking the Moon, Niro was never found, confirmed dead, nor even spotted going insane from Hive magic. Just vanished, pure and simple.

"If you're here to kill Crota, allow me to help. Long have I been stuck here, tortured by Volään, a Wormsinger serving under Crota. While his end goal is the extermination of the Light in service to his father, Crota's much less direct about it than you may think. He experiments, entertains himself when he can't conquer in his father's name with various tests, some done by himself, others done by those who follow him. I was one-such experiment, to see if the Light could be sapped out and erased from a Guardian without destroying their power, turn them into a weapon of Darkness rather than Light. For that, Crota's Wormsinger attempted to turn me much the same way the Hive themselves were turned so long ago, but unlike them, I have Light, and my Light is strong. They corrupted my body, but they'll never corrupt my soul, and I do _not _bow down to Crota or their deities." Niro explained, going heavy on the monologue because he knew based on his appearance that if he didn't give a very, _very_ valid reason to trust him right away, they might just shoot him under the presumption of a faker.

"Well, as one of the two acting leaders of this Fireteam, if Ms. Hadrian agrees with me, welcome to the team." Sivala greeted as she put her ARI-45 on her back, drawing a stockless shotgun from her trans-mat storage. Specifically a lever-action, the silver shotgun was engraved with a highly intricate, possibly hand-crafted design, heavily indicative of Tex Mechanica's higher-paid weapons divisions. Looking over at Hadrian, the small nod from the Defender prompted Sivala to lightly toss the shotgun up, catching it by the barrel-end and presenting the back half to Niro. Taking the gun, Niro operated the lever-action once to ensure it was loaded right, still partially worried that he wasn't considered trustworthy.

"Where the hell'd you get that shotgun?" Merikh asked, finding it to be far too ornate to just be some infamously sub-average run-of-the-mill Tex Mechanica gun. After Arcite 99-40's public leak of Tex's attempted Crucible briberies to make their average Hand Cannons look better, sales of anything less than their commemorative Last Word replicas were few and far between.

"Won it in a contest." Sivala quickly explained, not saying anything more as the plate Niro stood on began to illuminate. trailing up into the far left and right sides of the stairs leading to Crota's throne. Lighting up the small statues of various Ahamkara dragons that were equidistantly placed like some kind of gargoyles on the stairs, the green light eventually reached the throne itself, lighting up another symbol of Crota placed behind the throne. Crota's eyes lighting up in the traditional Hive green color, Crota's otherwise dark grey, ancient armor and ash-coated skin was contrasted by his left forearm and hand becoming engulfed in green flame. Cracking free of his long slumber, Crota loudly snapped his joints free from their stuck position, but did not leave his throne.

"Warriors of the Light, you try and try again to fight in the name of your so-called Traveler. I applaud it." A spectral, echoing voice could be heard, noticeably coming from Crota. "To fight and die for that which gave you power and the capability to continue on is admirable, but your weapons are barbaric. You kill acyclically, take and forget. You may be able to extinguish life with your guns, but they don't _remember, hunger _for more and remember that which it took. It's the capability to become more ravenous with each feeding that defines our usage of a blade, so if you wish to kill me, come: Let us shape our futures on the edge of a blade."

Rising from his throne, Crota seized his Cleaver, placing both hands on the handle before pulling in opposite directions, effectively manifesting a slightly smaller copy of Dreadbringer in one hand while the other held the original. Unsure of what Crota was doing, it mattered little as Crota threw the smaller Cleaver towards the group, the large sword lodging itself in the floor just in front of them. Raising his right arm above his head, Dreadbringer in hand, Crota's will seemed to shape the world around them, the walls crumbling down and the roof turning to ash to reveal a desolate, morbid, empty space. Slightly greenish in hue, the spontaneous bits of floating debris lazily drifting through coupled with the massive, silent black orb above and far behind Crota showed that passing through the Rupture didn't take them to somewhere else on the Moon, it took them into a separate dimension where Crota's will was law, at least to a certain extent.

"To take my blade and fight would be strength: to demand your existence in _my _realm. _Will you?_" Crota questioned, the staircase flattening out and the throne vanishing into ash as the remainder of the room transitioned into a proper place to fight. Remembering what Midas had said about the Mormos being sent out to prevent or ensure certain outcomes, Merikh assumed that 'The Death of Crota' wasn't on the list as, despite still being here, he let Sibuna take up the blade and fight Crota. After all, Merikh was a marksman, not a swordsman. Knowing that a simple one-on-one spectator fight wouldn't happen, the remainder of the group became alerted as more chittering and clattering could be heard coming from the black pools on either side of the room, which had now extended to stretch from near end to far end. Coming up from the black water were various members of the gold-armored Spawn of Crota, their primary number being Thralls with a pair of Knights wielding Cleavers scattered among them. The Thralls being among the first to die, a slug from Niro's shotgun followed up by a precision sniper-shot by Junko felled one of the Knights, only to spawn something more problematic. Coming out from where the now-dead Knight did, an inky green shadow of a similar Knight rose with blue eyes, titled the 'Remnants of the Fist'. Possibly tied to the reported-dead Sardon, Fist of Crota, this creature didn't seem to be Sardon himself, but a fractured shard of his soul pulled back by Crota to serve him once more.

Behaving in much the same way, this Remnants of the Fist rushed down Niro as the nearest target, leaping forward to execute a Cleaver ground-slam that fired off a forward-rushing wave of energy. Niro jumping out of the way, this problem was compounded as Hadrian and Phoenix dropped the other Knight, spawning a second inky green Cleaver Knight named Remnants of the Hand. The two Knights obviously affected by conventional firearms, the Fireteam laid fire on both Knights as they closed in on Niro.

Locked in his own fight against Crota, Sibuna's skill with a Cleaver meant very little here, as when he'd slam the Cleaver against Crota's hip or attempt to split an arm off, nothing would happen. Bone would crack and armor would split, but Crota would not properly die. Locking blades against Crota, the Titan had no choice but to continue blocking swings and dodging as Crota took the offensive with rapid, swift, one-handed strikes. The death of Crota's Remnants of the Fist being punctuated by a shrill roar, the slight wisp of its essence darted into Crota's flaming left hand, dulling its fire. The Remnants of the Hand dying shortly after, Crota's offensive was halted as the fire engulfing his left forearm and hand were extinguished, giving Crota a moment of pause. Seizing this opportunity, Sibuna leapt forward, properly driving a deep gash through Crota's chestplate. Actually responding to this, it was quite apparent that Crota hid his death in his followers. Bouncing back, Crota's forearm didn't light up again, the green fire instead emerging lightly from his three eyes. In sync with this, three Boomer-wielding Acolytes rose from the left-side pool, their indiscriminate deaths spawning a trio of inky green Acolytes named the Remnants of the Eyes.

"_That's it! _If we kill the Remnants, we can kill Crota! Shoot _anything _that's not a Thrall!" Merikh's Ghost yelled across the comms, putting two and two together between the remnants and Crota's fire. The three Remnants acting in a highly aggressive manner with their Boomers, the first to die was sniped off just like the Knights that preceded them, extinguishing the flame in Crota's middle eye. The second gunning for Phoenix, this Remnant received a slug to the ankle mid-sprint, compounded by a sprinting knee from Sivala after it had fallen to a kneeling position. The second flame going out, the third flame also vanished in the fire of Junko's Golden Gun, actually requiring two shots to kill its Remnant. The process repeating as Sibuna deflected an overhead swing from Crota to run another gash in the Hive Prince's chest, the transition from this stage tot he next was far more apparent.

Actually summoning two different non-Thrall-type Hive this time, both were already in the Remnant stage as Crota's exposed chest-gash and Cleaver lit ablaze, representing the Remnants of the Heart and the Remnants of the Might respectively. The Heart being a Wizard while the Might was an Ogre, the Heart's fast death was counteracted by the size and power of the Remnants of the Might, Crota having actually extended the arena just to give it room to fight. Larger than most Ogres, the Remnants of the Might was possibly on-par with Phogoth in stature as it slammed its fists down, trying to squash Hadrian and Phoenix with one fist each. Pushing the two Guardians back with the seismic force of the blow, the Remnants of the Might looked like it was in trouble when Niro circled around, leaping up to scale its back. Unfortunately, as the various Remnants were just shade-creatures, Niro simply passed right through it, landing just in front of the Remnants before being swatted off into a stone pillar. Going for the brute-force approach, Sivala finally slammed down with her Fists of Havoc behind the Might, staggering the large creature. Following up on this, Phoenix took a frontal offensive, jumping up before hurling an odd, lower-yield Nova Bomb at the Might's feet. Stumbling it back, Phoenix actually maintained air-time as she hurled three more of these consecutive, low-power Nova Bombs at the Might, finally vaporizing it.

With another gash run into Crota, no more Remnants seemed to spawn, Crota backing off for a moment to slam his sword into the ground. Speaking something in his native tongue, Crota held his position as the black pools lit ablaze in green fire, two rune-engraved slabs of what looked to be, but probably wasn't stone rising up at the far back of the room. More Spawn of Crota Knights with Cleavers emerging, Crota seemed to be making a desperate blitz as the runes on the slabs slowly lit up from bottom to top, the radiating sun-looking rune on a third slab chunk floating between the two larger ones indicating nothing good at all. Noticing that Crota himself was no longer lit on fire in any way, Sibuna pushed the offensive, making forceful attacks on Crota to bat his Cleaver away or halt Crota's advance while the Fireteam dealt with the Knights. Most of the Knights ignoring the duel, one took interest, moving to assist Crota in hopes of splitting Sibuna in half. Catching sight of this, Merikh backed up to let the other Fireteam members draw the attention of the Knights attacking them. Aiming his Test-A sniper, Merikh fired, the Knight moving to Sibuna practically keeling over from the force of the bullet hitting the back of its helmet. Turning to see what struck it, the Knight received a second bullet, then a third to finish as it crumpled to ash.

With Sibuna no longer at threat of a 2-on-1, he was free to exploit an opening, leaping past Crota with his Cleaver leveled at the Hope-Eater's hip, splitting the Son of Oryx in two. His reaction being delayed, Crota's fingers began to slip as Dreadbringer dropped to the floor, the Son of Oryx falling to his knees. His eyes going dim, Crota's upper half fell backwards while the bottom half fell forwards, both halves being nothing but ash as the body within disintegrated. Seemingly distraught by their leader's demise, what little remained of the Knights fled, vanishing back into the now dormant, not-firey black pools.

"You think they're leaving to go write up a funeral bill for us?" Merikh joked, the tension having passed as they looked at the collection of dust that used to be the Son of Oryx. Deciding to take some proof with them, Sivala's Ghost trans-matted Crota's empty helmet into her inventory while Hadrian's Ghost trans-matted Dreadbringer, even if just to ensure another Ascendant Hive couldn't take it for themselves in future conflicts. Ignoring the copy Crota split off for Sibuna to use, the Guardians were relieved to discover that with Crota's all-encompassing shroud gone, they were free to trans-mat away and back to their ships orbiting Earth's Moon. And soon, they'd need it. The Rupture opening, through it came an 11' Knight clad in bone-white armor, similar in configuration to Crota's, only with white cloth strips rather than red, and a more Cavalier-esque helmet. Wielding a bone-white blade glowing with blue Hive Runes, the name that popped up was Nikthar, Sword of Crota. Just behind him was a large Wizard, roughly a third bigger in general size and mass than the traditional Wizard. Vaguely similar to the likes of Omnigul, this Wizard's armor was dark grey with gashes and ruptures that were illuminated a dark orange color, as well as a more ornate, dark grey cape with Crota's logo on the back. Named as Volään, the Wormsinger, the Fireteam quickly fled through trans-mat, not wishing to stay and take their chances.

_Meanwhile, in the depths of the Prison of Elders…_

An arena was far from where she saw herself being mere years ago. Stuck in a cold, dark holding cell in the back rooms of the Prison of Elders between matches, Drevis, a Wolves Baroness, had high hopes for herself and Pirsis. Follow Skolas, help him become Kell, then simply ride easy with Pirsis serving as one of Skolas' top Baronesses for helping him reach Kell. Instead, Drevis wrecked her ship on an asteroid, got Pirsis captured trying to save her, and now all of them, even Skolas, were locked away like animals waiting to fight the gladiators at their door. Seeing this as where she'd spend her time until she eventually died, be it of disease or a deadly wound suffered in the prison, a Fallen's incapability to die of old age almost made this punishment worse. No metaphorical timer on her life meant Drevis could be here until the end of time if she were unlucky enough, but thankfully, luck was on her side. Able to hear some commotion through the walls of her windowless cell, Drevis rose to her feet at the sound of screaming Awoken. Shrapnel Launchers firing, it sounded like a borderline riot outside as the sound of a body colliding against her cell door could be heard, followed by pleading and begging, then finally, the hum of a Shock Blade stabbing through armor. A few seconds going by, the door to her cell opened, the Eliksni on the other side being none other than Pirsis, Pallas-Bane.

"_Pirsis?!_" Drives exclaimed, ecstatic to see her fellow Baroness. In return, Drevis was tossed a Shrapnel Launcher.

"Skolas got free. I don't know how, I don't care how, but he's already freed Grayor and a number of other Wolves. He was going to get to you eventually, but I wasn't going to wait. Grayor already secured some ships for us to leave on, not far from here. The Awoken are in disarray from Skolas being let loose, so let's leave before they collect themselves." Piracies explained quickly, Drevis knowing there was still an endearing smile under that helmet from seeing Drevis again. Accepting the Shrapnel Launcher, the two Baronesses began to run down the decrepit, dark brass, Ketch-styled corridors of the Prison of Elders, until Pirsis stopped to make a comment. "Oh, and Drevis?"

"Yes?" Drives asked, curious what would make Pirsis stop at a moment like this.

"Try not to wreck your ship on any asteroids this time." Pirsis joked, probably having waited for a chance at freedom like this to use it.

Author's Note

So, apologies for this taking longer than anticipated, but I wanted to make sure my info was accurate after I had played TTK a bit and found out that, not to jump on the shit-talk-Destiny train by any means, there was actually some explanation and backstory given about the Hive in this DLC. When I saw just how much detail they had gotten into about the Hive, and with this being a Hive-focused chapter, I knew I _needed _to get it correct before writing this. I started by just trying to collect all the Calcified Fragments (Even got the Raid ones), but when I saw the ones that were tied to the Court of Oryx, I knew it would be _far _longer before I could read them all if I did it "Fairly" (IE collecting enough runes to do the Tier 2 enough times, and waiting multiple weeks to gather the Tier 3 runes AND kill Kagoor, Thalnok, and probably Balwur too since they rotate every week), so I just read them all on DestinyTracker to save time. And I will admit, I was not expecting what I saw, mostly with Aurash. I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to learn it on their own, but yeah: What Aurash ends up becoming is…did not see that one coming before release. Sadly I'm not really sure what use any sort of time-travel nonsense about, say, going back to Fundament and pulling Aurash and her sisters forward would do, as interesting as it would be. Could totally do it with Midas and his Vex in the picture, but still, no really obvious point to it means it probably won't happen.

As for the changes done to Crota's End, that was the result of a long, cooperative bit of work between me and the other people I develop this story with to try and make Crota's End more interesting in general. Sadly multiple things had to be cut because the chapter's already incredibly long as it is (There were originally supposed to be two entire extra fights against Nikthar and Volään, and I didn't want them to basically roll over and die for the sake of time, nor did I want this to stretch into multiple chapters, so we just rolled them back into the TTK segment so they could get a proper fight. There was also supposed to be a whole segment of "Feeding the Blade" that ties into the Ascendant Blade Grimoire about how the Cleavers remember what they kill and grow hungrier, so the Fireteam would slaughter Thralls to empower an Ascendant Blade so they could move on, the redone Hallowed Knight was going to debut here, and the Solar Gatekeeper was going to have his own dynamic feature involving the spawning of Solar Tears, glowing orange Acolyte's Eye-looking things that, when destroyed with the Gatekeeper under him, would damage him, but it was axed due to both length and the fact that in order to discover that would require blind luck by the Fireteam. All the Remnants were also going to have their now dynamic features, and there was going to be an Omnigul-Remnant called the Remnant of the Will, but again, axed for time reasons.) In addition, some of the bits that did make it in were cut down in length from what was initially planned for the sake of not making the read tedious: The Gatekeeper gauntlet run at the beginning initially was 6 Gatekeepers along the normal path of the first part of the Raid, but it was shortened to keep from falling into a boring loop, same reason some of the Remnants died so fast: To keep things from getting sluggish.

In addition, while Niro had been a long-existing concept started as a joke about Komodo finally getting their Sunsinger everyone thought was going to be the 6th member, it actually gained a tiny bit of validation now that we know the Hive were created through the bonding of hosts to some kind of strange worms, probably similar to the ones you find on the Dreadnaught. And hey, if the concept of Taken Guardians is becoming such a widespread thing the community's throwing around, physically Hive-Ivied Guardians can't be too far off. The concept mostly banks on the thought of "You can break my body, but not my soul", or in this case his Light. You can change his body, but his Light can't be broken so easily without flat-out exterminating him, which would go against what Crota was interested in testing. Finally, the changes to Crota were to give him a bit more depth and, especially, actually give him a speaking role instead of him appearing in an explosion after you step on a crystal, then you go shoot him with rockets, whack him with a sword, and then you're done. Same reason I put in the blade being the Sword of Crota: Then it actually fits with what the TTK trailers claimed we did, killing him with his own sword rather than, well, some unlucky Swordbearer's sword whose owner we battered with snipers and rockets.

Finally, yes, Nikthar is meant to be Crota's equivalent to Ecthar, Sword of Oryx, and despite that, Ecthar will appear directly in the story later, and in a much better way than….a patrol target you need to go kill for an Exotic Sword quest. He quickly asserted himself as one of the most interesting looking/sounding Hive in the end-cutscene after the first TTK mission, then he's never heard of again, and only appears in a Quest players might not even do. Feels like he was kinda undersold. That end cutscene is also why I tried to write Crota with more of a calm, collected manner rather than a raging warrior, since to me at least, I thought Oryx was at his best and most interesting in that first mission end-cutscene when he was speaking in a calm, collected manner. It both sounded more interesting than his "Angry" voice when he's addressing us, and made him sound less like a generic angry bad guy. As such, I tried to apply the same thing to Crota, especially since as the Calcified Fragments have proven, the Hive work on a very black-and-white "If I'm strong enough, I'll live, period" mentality, meaning that Crota went into that fight knowing that if he was powerful enough to defeat the Guardians, he would, pure and simple.

Credit:

Fireteam Coalition's name and the names, armor, weapon, and personality choices for all three members, as well as Phoenix-7's low-yield Nova Bombs, all designed and submitted by The Assassin's mentor


	13. The False Kell

Chapter 13: The False Kell

_Three days later, in the Tower….._

Trans-matting out as his ship dropped him off, Merikh was at the Tower to see Cayde about something. What specifically the matter was about, though, Cayde refused to say in advance. Unfortunately, a whole different matter seemed to be erupting behind Merikh as he passed the Guardian Vaults, hardly making it down the first step towards the Vanguard before the commotion got his attention. Sure enough, there stood the decrepit, dare he say mutated Guardian Niro from back in Crota's Ascendant Realm, who had somehow acquired the means for space-travel from the Moon to here and followed him. Walking towards Merikh, the boney Hive-like Guardian was immediately spotted, called out, and surrounded by upwards of 15 Guardians, all drawing their primary weapon of choice on him. Not feeling threatened, Niro merely kept his arms by his side, palms open, and kept his glowing white, three-eyed gaze locked on Merikh. Debating whether he should intervene or not, Merikh's anti-Hive attitude wasn't strong enough to keep him from begrudgingly walking over, waving down a fellow Hunter's Hand Cannon when he got there.

"Look, I'm going to keep this brief because I don't want to get shot for talking to you, but what the _fuck are you doing here?!_" Merikh asked in a low voice, the last five words coming off more like an angry hiss than average whispering. Not blinking, Niro just stared back at the tall Hunter before giving a simple reply.

"Because, I need a Fireteam. I may have recovered my Ghost and…..whatever remains of my weapons, but my old friends Praedyth and Toland are both gone. I know I was a lone Warlock before the attack on the Moon, but now? I think I'll need some allies to help me be taken seriously instead of taken as a threat." Niro explained, obviously having hoped one of his long-dead allies was still around and open to working together. As for his weapons, Merikh could see fairly easily about what Niro meant: The custom, long-barreled Scout Rifle Niro used to use still had its general silhouette, but it was now almost organic. Looking like a mixture of pinkish-red muscle tissue and white, hard bone, it looked like a twisted mockery of its old self. About to make a snide joke about bringing guns into the Tower while looking the way Niro does, Merikh was stopped when he noticed that the Guardians had suddenly and totally backed off. Thinking Zavala had come out to settle this dispute, things got more surprising when he saw it was actually The Speaker that had arrived. Waving off the Guardians that had surrounded Niro, they were obedient, albeit confused.

"What…are you doing, exactly? You've seen what Niro here looks like, right?" Merikh asked The Speaker, pausing his reply after the first word to adjust his approach for the sake of who he was speaking to. While his endless supply of sarcasm, snide remarks and humor sometimes at the other person's expense was fine with other Guardians, and even Cayde, talking to The Speaker required a different approach. Placing one hand on Niro's left shoulder, The Speaker didn't seem bothered.

"His physical form may have changed, but his Light is not yet tainted. For the time being at least, he's still as much a Guardian now as he was before the Great Disaster. I simply hope it will stay that way, I'd rather we don't repeat the problems we had with Osiris." The Speaker answered plainly, his concealing mask giving even less room for spotting possible uncertainty in his statement. Obviously not completely confident as evidenced by how he shifted his weight, Merikh's silent response prompted a followup from the Speaker that he wasn't expecting. "I'm surprised you're so uncertain….especially with what's in Poland."

"Uh…..in Poland?" Merikh asked nervously, trying to not insult The Speaker's intelligence by not outright playing dumb. Moving closer to ensure no nearby Guardians overheard, it was evident that The Speaker had at least some respect for Merikh's reputation.

"I know what you've done and who you've found. While they don't redeem the actions of their races as a whole, it's clear to see their intentions do not lie with the majority of the Fallen and Vex. If I were you, I'd trust them more. Their hearts are certainly in the right place." The Speaker clarified, quite obviously showing that he knew about Kyra and Midas hiding out in Poland. Still heavily wary of how The Speaker knew, Merikh nonetheless let it go as The Speaker calmly left, heading off back to his personal study. Lingering on it for a few seconds, Merikh was abruptly interrupted for the second time, but now by a far less mysterious figure.

"Hey, just the Guardian I was looking for! Finally got a second to get away from Zavala's speech about how much of a 'strategic victory' Crota's death was, pretty sure Sivala's still down there bored to tears listening to it. Who's….the other guy?" Cayde-6's distinctive voice spoke up, the Hunter Vanguard ascending the steps onto the main Tower floor as he greeted Merikh. Gesturing to Niro with his question, Cayde unwittingly put Merikh in the awkward position of effectively accepting or declining Niro's request to join Komodo based on what he said.

"That's…Niro, newest member of the Fireteam. Certainly wouldn't be the first weird addition." Merikh answered, mumbling the second sentence. Luckily for Merikh, Cayde was far more likable and tolerant than a chief authority of a Guardian class probably should be, but unluckily, Cayde was also curious. So curious, Merikh wasn't going to hear the end of it until he explained his second sentence.

"What, you mean to tell me you've found _other _weird members for your Fireteam? Let me guess: A pink Knight that's _really _good at pre-Golden Age dance moves." Cayde asked as a joke, not expecting that Merikh did actually have outright non-Guardians in his team.

"Well, no…..but we _have _found a female Vandal from the House of Devils that thinks her House are a bunch of asshats and wants to make amends with the Traveler rather than take it by force. That and a golden Manticore calling himself Midas that, honestly, might be the leader of a silver-plated Vex Program not in the Tower's books, not quite sure. We also found a whole friendly House out in Africa that just want to live in peace, though nobody from there's joined us yet." Merikh answered with an unseen sheepish grin, Cayde's expression going to a mix of surprise, confusion, and interest.

"Alright…first off:" Cayde paused, leaning heavily on his right foot and clenching his right hand almost into a fist, only his pointer finger sticking out straight. As he went down the list, Cayde would extend one more finger for each 'point' he made, starting with his middle finger. "How in the world did you get them to side with you. Second: Where are they hiding out. And third: When can I meet them?"

"As soon as you get out of this Tower." Merikh said with a small chuckle, patting the Hunter Vanguard on the back as the latter remembered that one, giant snag in his plan. Despite that metaphorical slap in the face, Cayde knew it was all in good fun from one wise-ass Hunter to another, carrying on with what he wanted Merikh here for.

"Right…well, while I'm working on that, you've got something new to play with. Took some persuading to get Banshee to talk to me, but I had him make this for you. Heard about what happened to your Hand Cannon on Europa, and I figured one of the Killers of Crota deserved something special." Cayde diverted to a new topic, taking out a black and white Hand Cannon. Somewhat on the longer side compared to most Hand Cannons, its black and white color scheme was highlighted by a white Spade symbol on the grip, the in-built ID label for Merikh's Ghost to read identifying it as the Ace of Spades. Cayde flipping the Hand Cannon into the air before catching it by the barrel, he presented the grip-end to Merikh, who took it with little hesitation.

"So, is the name and Spade theme for me or a reminder that it was your idea?" Merikh joked, knowing both Hunters also had a big thing for playing cards. Cayde used them to mark stashes, Merikh flipped two for a sign of things to come. Holstering the Hand Cannon on his leg, Merikh could tell there was still something else Cayde needed from him.

"Well, you can take that however you want. I like to think it's a friendly reminder of your good buddy here in the Tower keeping things in check, but uh…y'know, whatever you want to believe. Also, on a less savory note, the shipment carrying Crota's sword and helmet got sacked. We don't know who did it, but everyone getting on a 'Second Dredgen Yor' trip means the first suspects are you guys since you went and got those items to begin with. A simple Ghost log-check will prove if you were anywhere near the shipment when it got knocked over, so I'd suggest you just go see Zavala and get that done. Just…don't stay too long, you might not get away from him." Cayde explained, obviously trying to keep a light demeanor despite the negative implications a theft like this could have.

"Any of the others already go through it?" Merikh inquired, not seeing why Sivala would suddenly become a pro-Hive cultist. Fireteam Coalition didn't strike him as shady either, so if it was one of them, it was probably Sibuna.

"Yeah, Coalition came through earlier and got checked out, wasn't them. Sivala came down and got cleared of suspicion too, but…..well, let's just say she made the mistake of sticking around long enough for Zavala to get speech-ey. Sibuna still hasn't turned up though, haven't been able to find him on any Guardian channels or Air Traffic sightings either. I wouldn't say this publicly since I don't want to start some Osiris-Vanguard war here in the Tower between the different supporters, but I honestly think it's him. I mean, come on: The guy's name is literally the name of a Pre-Golden god of mummification spelt backwards. Only thing he needs now is for someone to stick a sign on his back that reads 'I'm a spook'." Cayde answered, calming any actual concerns Merikh had. While Merikh would sooner marry a Legionary before he'd admit it out loud, his opinion of Sivala had gotten _significantly _less sour since killing Crota, so to hear she was cleared of being a suspect in a Dredgen Yor-comparable scenario was a massive relief.

"Right….any other problems?" Merikh asked, wondering if anything else had warranted Cayde's attention.

"Yeah, sadly…you hear about that butcher down in the lower markets? Big guy, smells like a Fallen, kind of a dick?" Cayde briefly described, Merikh still knowing what he was talking about.

"What about him? He piss off another Titan and actually get his shop smashed this time?" Merikh theorized, remembering more than one occasion where that butcher's big mouth visibly irritated a Guardian. It never came to violence, but the reactions the butcher would get made Merikh think that, one of these days, that was going to change. Unfortunately, it seems like it did.

"Well, he's dead. Someone came in through the vents and slashed his throat. Clean swing from what I heard, no real struggle or signs of a fight. What makes it more annoying though is that whoever did it stabbed him another 20 times after he died. Normally that's pretty condemning evidence on one person, but…..well, I'd say half the people in this Tower won't be crying for him tonight, so that really doesn't do much for us. The reason this has come to _my _attention is a lot of people are saying a Hunter did it. Yes it makes sense somewhat: Skill with a knife, really stealthy, would know how to get past security systems, but the best proof anyone's given me so far is they were wearing a cloak similar to a Hunter cloak." Cayde explained, the shifting of his eyebrow plating after his last sentence almost showing that he thought 'wore a Hunter cloak' being used as concrete evidence was downright ridiculous.

"Well me and Alvara saw him yesterday when we were passing through, ended up going someplace else when he called her a cherry-topped broad with a brain the size of a nut, but she didn't seem _vengeful _about it. Angry, yeah, but I don't think anyone really walked away from his place with a smile. I was with her the rest of the day too, no real time where she could've slipped away to kill him." Merikh remembered, the summary of their day not adding up for Alvara to have gone and killed the butcher.

"She's the uh…..Bladedancer, right? Red hair, Awoken, accidentally fried my Sparrow when she first tried practicing with that Razor's Edge move? Still owes me for that….." Cayde noted, that incident marking the last time he leant his private training space from before becoming the Vanguard out to up-and-coming Hunters.

"Yeah, that's her. Want me to send her by sometime?" Merikh offered, not having much more to give on the subject.

"I figure it could have some use….kinda weird that this came up right before the Festival of The Lost though. You know, if I weren't so busy with Vanguard duties, I could probably write a book about this sort of thing, or a series of books. Maybe get with a cop in the lower parts of the City and follow her around, take notes on what happens to make it even better. I _would _ask Ikora if any of her Hidden would be up for it, but she'd probably call it a 'drastic misuse of resources and effort' and Eris doesn't seem like she's very fond of me, so…..yeah. Work in progress I guess." Cayde speculated, quickly realizing his idea would take a _lot _of refinement to even be plausible.

"Well, just remember: Tower first, books later. Might take getting into a state of serenity to figure out how you'll get that far, but I'm sure you'll figure it out." Merikh assured, patting Cayde on the shoulder before carrying on down the stairs to get his Ghost checked as per Cayde's suggestion.

"A state of serenity….hm. Serenity wouldn't make a half-bad ship-name." Cayde pondered, taking Merikh's point in a completely different direction.

_Later, near the Sunship Dreviks-Fel, plains of Africa….._

The massive city built by the House of the Sun lacking any structures that went above 6 floors except for the main 'Temple' where Raylik's throne was located, it made the matter of trans-matting into the city's inner regions from Komodo's passing Jumpships fairly easy without risk of toppling anything. The full Fireteam coming in, their usual assortment of Jumpships was now given a dash of the exotic, or disgusting, depending on who you asked as Niro took up the rear of the formation with his ship. Calling it the Agonarch Karve, the ship followed the same whitened bone and pink muscle look as his guns, leaving some to think the ship's unique long-winged design is the twisted parody of his old Jumpship. The only other difference to their Jumpship lineup being a taller, larger body for the back half of Carwyn's Ether Eater ship, the reason for such a modification would soon become apparent. The entire 8-person crew trans-matting out into a smooth stone plaza-like area, Kyra and Midas were non-Guardian sights Merikh was becoming accustomed to. In much the opposite manner, an unannounced ninth member dropped in a few seconds afterwards, his heavy-weighted landing going on-par with Midas. Turning around to see who it was, Merikh nearly jumped in surprise to see the infamous Devil Archon, Riksis.

"When…didn't a group of Guardians kill Sepiks Prime the other day?!" Merikh exclaimed in baffled surprise, the question being relevant because, due to Sepiks Prime's discovered vulnerability and subsequent assassination, the Vanguard assumed that Riksis had died fighting a non-City force, be it the Hive or another House. Despite that assumption, here he definitely was, right down to the trophy-belt of torn House banners and Hive bones hanging around Riksis' hips. The majority of his armor being the same as Merikh recalled, even the same multi-eyed helmet with two tubes connected to the mouth cover's right side, the one large difference was no cape, and a distinct removal of all his Devil insignias. And strangest of all to Merikh, he was docile, standing by Midas and Barrett as if he belonged here.

"A Prime Servitor is open to destruction when its Archon dies or disappears…in most cases it's death, but given the circumstances I left the Devils under, I'd prefer my cause be disappearance rather than death." Riksis explained in a surprisingly human voice, Ghost-induced Fallen-to-English translation being a factor of course. While it still had the distinct vocal flange of a Fallen, it carried the weight of his size and stature without sounding cartoonishly deep or pitch-shifted. Carrying his Shrapnel Launcher on his back, a number of markings, burns, and chips in his armor indicated that Riksis' severance from the Devils was far from peaceful. Strangely, however, in the fur wrapping covering his neck region seemed to be small bits of leaves, sticks, and twigs, which was a question begging to be answered. The group beginning to walk towards the base of Raylik's temple and ascending the stairs, this distraction wasn't enough to get Riksis out of this topic.

"Well, if you left, what's with the uh….greenery in your collar there? Run into a tree?" Merikh joked, taking a further stride than usual when it came to dealing with someone he only just found out doesn't want to kill him, at least not yet. Looking down, a barely audible sigh indicated that the explanation for this was far from pleasant, specifically for Riksis himself.

"After I was outed for not killing Kyra, I fled a bad encounter and tried to make my way to Poland….I got there eventually, but I didn't want to make my attempts at persuading you Guardians into letting me join any more difficult. So, when I encountered a group of Guardians on my fourth day walking to Poland, I didn't want to engage in hostilities with them. Because they couldn't understand my words, I chose to run and hide…..which, led me up a tree. It worked, but I'd say the tree didn't walk away from that predicament as tall as it was at the start." Riksis carefully explained, trying to avoid outright admitting what happened. So, to help, Midas took advantage of his capability to project any sound of his choosing, sticking one long finger straight up. Making a whistling noise, Midas decreased the pitch gradually as he lowered his finger to be in line with the rest of his fist, essentially miming out the fact that Riksis toppled a tree through sheer weight. Glaring at the golden Manticore, Riksis couldn't help being a small bit thankful that Midas saved him from giving the full explanation firsthand. Not dwelling on it, the group went silent as they ascended the stairs, eventually reaching the top to see an unknown Fallen conversing with Raylik.

"Either the sun's finally getting to my eyesight, or that's Riksis I see…..what brings you out here with the Guardians?" Raylik said in a friendly, almost teasing tone from her throne, implying that whatever past association it was that she had with the Archon, it wasn't bad. Despite her friendly demeanor, the Baron and Baroness standing guard on either side of Raylik's throne didn't seem impressed. Taking a step back, it seemed like Riksis wasn't prepared for Raylik to actually recognize him.

"Associations change, and I'd say I'm currently out of work. Unfortunately, unless you have a dead Archon that you need to replace, it'll probably stay that way." Riksis admitted, not wanting to give the long-winded play-by-play explanation right here.

"Well, as much as I still wish you would've come with the Suns instead of the Devils when we first arrived here, you're welcome here all the same. I will say though, your girlfriend's proven you at least made _some_ good decisions." Raylik joked, turning all eyes onto Kyra, especially from the Guardians. Shrinking her head down and moving to stand partially behind Riksis' right leg, it was evident that Kyra withheld this info for more reasons than simply who Riksis was to Guardians.

"Interesting…heart rate nearly doubled for a second there. Something bothering you, Kyra?" Midas asked in a blatant invasion of privacy, his synthetic voice still carrying a tone of sarcasm to it.

"W-well, yes, but do that again, and we'll see how long it takes before your head's replaced with one of those old, broken recording devices back in Poland." Kyra awkwardly threatened in response to having her heart rate analyzed, referring to the long-dead, non-functional handheld camcorders back at their Poland settlement hideout. Luckily for Kyra, Caldwell was able to deflect the topic back onto why they were here:

"We can settle that later. For now, Raylik, have you heard of a Fallen named Skolas? We've got reason to believe he's a problem, and you're the best option we have for confirmation from an actual Fallen." Caldwell explained, somewhat less bleak than usual. While the'd never bring it up to Caldwell's face, the general consensus among the rest of the Fireteam was that Caldwell's lessening depression had something to do with the mysterious Exo that he's been seen talking to more and more. She's the one who told Caldwell about Skolas, and after the validity of her claims with the dark side of the Moon, they were all willing to trust her on this. Unable to see Raylik's face behind her helmet, the Sun Kell's body language nonetheless didn't seem too stressed.

"Skolas? He's just an air-headed Captain from the Wolves, and the Wolves aren't even free. What's he doing, jamming up your airwaves with threatening transmissions from an Awoken cell?" Raylik joked, still not worried. At this point, the unknown Fallen that had otherwise been silent since Komodo arrived spoke up.

"That's actually why I'm here…Skolas is free, and he's hired Taniks to help him out. He also paid me to kill you so he can roll in and take over the Suns." The Captain-sized Fallen with normal upper arms, but cybernetic lower arms explained, unusually calm about the situation. Wearing maroon red armor in the normal Captain configuration, the biggest difference was the lack of a cape, instead possessing a section of cloth hanging off the back of his neck that was similar in shape to a Hunter's End Unsung cloak. Wearing the full bodysuit and fur collar unlike most Sun Fallen, this Fallen also wore an additional two belts criss-crossed over his hips. Having two thick, heavy pouches hanging off the sides of the upper belt, and a third on the back of the lower belt, the most notable decoration was an unusually out-of-place U.S. Marshal badge mounted in the front of the upper belt, just off to the left side. On the outside of each thigh was a modified Shock Pistol, the internally contained power cell being replaced with a larger, easily visible Shock Core, as well as a heavier barrel region. Almost resembling a sort of Fallen revolver, the guns were complemented by two larger, deadlier-looking Shock Blades held in sheaths strapped to the outside of the Fallen's shins. Their sheaths indicating that the knives resembled a kind of Shock Bowie Knives, it nonetheless had the same leather-wrapped handle and visible Shock Core cap at the bottom of the handle.

"Did he now? And you accepted?" Raylik asked, sounding suspicious. Oddly, this Fallen didn't draw his weapons, nor did he even seem tense. The room falling almost silent, the only audible noise was coming from the unknown Fallen's slightly modified helmet, which possessed two side-by-side tubes on the left side of the mouthguard feeding into an airtank mounted to his lower back. While not atrociously loud, the respirated breathing still stood out, sounding like he had it as a necessity rather than a luxury.

"Yeah, I did. The reason I'm here is I already got paid: I told Skolas I already killed you, so he's on his way now with some Wolves to swing in and try to take over the Suns. He's not going to be expecting a fight, so it'll be only a fraction of the force he'd bring if he were expecting a fight. I figured I'd tell you if you wanted to go down there and put his lights out yourself." The unknown Fallen explained, the tension disappearing as it became obvious that it was Skolas in trouble here. Still sitting in her throne, Raylik could be heard chuckling somewhat, probably at Skolas' imminent expense.

"And that's the kind of attitude that I hire you for so often. If all of you don't know, this is Korin. Most of the other Houses that hire him nickname him The Drifter, but here in the Suns, we usually call him Killian instead of Korin. Affectionate nickname since he works with us so often." Raylik introduced, referring to the maroon-armored Fallen. Driving up the Western theme even further past the badge, weapons, and human nickname, Killian even had a basic rifle-holster hanging off his back that held a bizarre fusion of human and Fallen tech. The basis being an ancient Winchester 1892 rifle re-bored for .357 Magnum rounds, the stock had been re-done in a similar style to a Shock Rifle or Shrapnel Launcher stock, albeit in the Winchester stock's shape. With the lever made larger to accommodate Killian's three large fingers, the biggest mechanical change was the attachment of a Shock Core to the left side of the rifle's main body. Visibly connected to the barrel by a series of wires, the barrel itself was heavily modified with a more vented, spiky design made from a black, metal-like material with two noticeable rails inside. Firing normal .357 rounds, the rifle fired the rounds through normal combustion, only to catch it with the Shock Core-powered rails and fling the round out at even higher speed. As such, a shorthand explanation would be to consider the weapon a lever-action/Wire Rifle hybrid.

"Killian? That's a human name….where the hell'd you guys find a human name from?" Merikh asked in confusion, still having more questions than answers about this Fallen Merc. Turning to look at him, Killian unclipped the U.S. Marshal badge from his belt, tossing it up and catching it with the backside facing out now. Holding it up for them to see, the backside of the badge was engraved with the words 'Property of Killian S.', showing that they lifted it from his signature badge.

"Killian's a name? Hm, I thought it…..was a title for something. I'm sure it won't change much though. Found this in an aging wreck of a….what do you humans call it? A plane?" Killian inquired, showing that he took an interest in humanity, he was just somewhat rough on the edges of it. Taking a better look at Merikh, Killian saw an opportunity to toy with the Hunter, walking up to him specifically. Placing his lower hands just above his pistols, Killian put on a falsely threatening air to help his point. "You know, I've got to keep this air tank on me because my left lung doesn't work, got destroyed by a rifle round. The guy who shot that round got away, and before he left, I got a look at him. He looked awfully similar to someone like you, same cloak and hood theme. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Unsure how to respond, Merikh was abruptly butted aside as the Sun Captain that escorted them up last time they were here, Nassik, came barging up with an urgent announcement. Actually seeming out of breath, it was in incredibly stark contrast to the last time he was seen.

"My Kell, there's a…large Fallen…..Wolves…..claims to be the Kell of Kells…..outside…thinks you're dead." Nassik huffed, having to get his message out between breaths. Veris, the Baroness of the duo guarding Raylik, leaned in to say something in the Kell's ear, probably advising for the Kell to, as Killian suggested, go down and put Skolas' lights out. Wearing the traditional Captain/Baron helmet, Veris took an approach more akin to Killian, wearing the full bodysuit and armor plating for a Baron-type Fallen. The only armor modifications done being the addition of a knee-reaching loincloth in the front and back like some larger Fallen, there were additional flaps of cloth attached to either hip, resembling a sort of Fallen-styled Deep Stone Crypt that was mirror-matched to be on both sides. Predominantly demonstrating Veris' identity, however, was her custom Crossbow weapon. Resembling a compound crossbow, the weapon looked like it was built from a Shrapnel Launcher, with the same stock and pump area, but the pump was stuck in place, as well as the break-action being done away with. Instead having two curved limbs like a crossbow, the weapon used a similar rail system to Killian's rifle to propel Wire Rifle bolts from an open-air system where the thin wire is placed right in the middle, much like a normal crossbow arrow. As if the increased penetration wasn't enough, the weapon even had an electrified ram-spike mounted in the front, just below where the rounds exited the weapon.

"Let's see for ourselves then…._Kell of Kells my ass_. All of you, come with. If Skolas is what brought you here, you might as well get to see him." Raylik suggested, rising from her throne and grabbing her massive Kell-sized Shrapnel Launcher as she went for the stairs. With her two guards, Killian, Nassik, and the entirety of Komodo not far behind, the group hurried down past collections of rushing Suns, Skolas' arrival probably sending them into a frenetic craze. Not paying them much attention, Raylik was the first out and into the open sunlight as she looked for Skolas, spotting the Kell-sized Wolf with little trouble. In the middle of a speech, Skolas' probable monologue was cut short when he spotted the suspiciously not-dead Sun Kell.

"Your House covers much ground, but your leader is dead! Assassinated behind your backs, and without that whore Raylik to guide you, you will fall to pieces unless you fall under my banner! Join the Wolves, and be led to our salvation by the Kell! Of….." Skolas yelled as he looked at a large gathering of Suns Fallen, abruptly stopping his momentum before he could say 'Kells' when he caught sight of Raylik. Having been making grandiose gestures with his four arms before, Skolas' hands fell to his sides slowly as he processed the fact that his claims of Raylik's death were now baseless, which would make the Suns question his Kell of Kells claims too. The crowd going silent, both for the Suns and the only decent-sized crowd of Wolves accompanying Skolas, the Kell of Kells turned his frustration more towards Killian. "Korin, you would betray me like this? I thought money was your only motivation."

"Usually it is, but not only do I not take jobs against the House that saved me after my lung collapsed, you didn't even get my price right: You paid me twenty-thousand to kill Raylik, but everyone knows my price to kill a Kell is fifty-thousand, you dumb bastard." Killian humiliated, calling out Skolas' shoddy practices for everyone to hear. The Suns backing up, tensions began to rise as the next-highest-ranking Wolf present, an Archon armor-dressed Baroness named Grayris, began to step forward with two Thugs by her side. Taking it as a sign of aggression, one of the Sun Captains opened fire with his Shrapnel Launcher, sparking an open gunfight as both sides ran for cover. Most of the Wolves having to use the shoddily constructed, wooden shop-stalls as cover, the Suns had home-field advantage as the owners of nearby buildings happily let their brethren use the solid concrete buildings for protection. Raylik running to cover behind a 3-floor building off to the left, the entirety of Komodo opted to haphazardly spread out across the Suns' side of the field in search of cover for themselves.

"You know, I will say….a Fallen-on-Fallen gunfight's probably one of the least intense fights I've ever seen." Barrett joked as he clipped a Wolf in the shin, referring to the speed of typical Fallen projectiles. Whereas Crucible gunfights and those in the fairly overdone films produced by City Cinema Guilds were frenetic and intense, the lazy projectiles fired by Shock Rifles turned it more into a mess of slow, blue whisps. Only given any urgency by Komodo and the Fallen wielding Shrapnel Launchers on both sides, another of Raylik's Barons, Silus, was about to add his own brand of firepower to the mix. Standing at the average height for a Baron, Silus was exceptionally augmented, with all four arms and both shins/feet replaced by top-grade Fallen cybernetics. The only cape-like thing he had being a sort of half-cloak to pull over his left arms, Silus' chestplate instead had an intricately modified, small-scale transmitter mounted to the back of of it, which was linked by four wires to the back of his helmet. One of his four eyes being a prosthetic with a slightly deeper blue glow than the rest, the massive Shank Silus brought in behind him soon proved the purpose behind it.

"So…does that big thing get used often, or is this a rare opportunity for him?" Merikh asked Veris as the latter took out an approaching Wolf, her crossbow-style Wire Rifle firing its round with enough force to nail the Wolf in question to a nearby wall. While Silus _was _using the Wire Rifle's anti-materiel cousin, the Thunder Rifle, it was fairly obvious that Merikh was referring to the large S.A.B.E.R.-model Shank he brought in. A small bit larger than most of its kind, the jumbo-Shank was fitted with dual Void repeaters and an onboard Shank foundry, much like on a Walker. The large, orange and white-painted S.A.B.E.R. Shank spitting out groups of smaller, normal-sized Repeater Shanks, Silus' hand gestures and the indistinct beeps and clicks coming from his armor indicated that, possibly through some kind of neural implant, he was actually commanding and controlling the Shanks directly. The various Shanks laying down a high volume of suppressing fire, more Wolves were routed from their bad cover as Midas entered a building on the right through its back-door, giving him a good shot at their side.

"Whenever there's an incursion, yeah. Silus is a turncoat from the House of Iron, same place Taniks and Killian came from before they each went solo. They're obsessed with augmentation and mechanical enhancement, from replacement limbs and organs to neural implants and performance boosts. Most of them are ruthless and bloodthirsty, so Silus left because he was sick of them always being out to get the other Houses." Veris explained, making sense of why both Silus, Killian, and Taniks were all heavily modified. With the most serious threat besides Skolas being the Baroness Grayris, Raylik saw an opportunity to move up, first seizing a Wolf Captain by the neck before hurling him onto a jutting metal spike poking off one of the nearby buildings. Stepping out fast into the road, Raylik gunned it right for Skolas and his Scorch Cannon, running into him shoulder-first. Colliding with the Wolf Kell's chest, Raylik continued to barrel on towards an alley not far behind them, driving Skolas back-first into a corner on the alley's right building. Still holding her Shrapnel Launcher, Raylik regardless didn't use it much as she grabbed one of Skolas' large bone-horns mounted on his back, pulling him face-first into a second-floor window before throwing a straight punch at his stomach with her lower-right hand. Kicking the Wolf Kell back against a building on the opposite side of the road, Raylik almost had to contend with a 2-on-1, the Wolf Baroness Grayris being stopped from assisting Skolas when Midas got a firm grip on her cape.

Pulling the Wolf Baroness into the shop he was hiding in, Midas intentionally ran Grayris into the countertop that the store's owner would stand behind, sending her tumbling over it. Regaining her bearings, Grayris left her Shrapnel Launcher behind as she leapt back over the countertop, latching onto Midas' front with the intention of pulling his head off. Getting a hold between the gaps in Midas' ornate head, Grayris braced her feet on top of Midas' thighs and began to pull, being cut short as Midas ran at the wall. Literally running right into the wall as if he didn't see it, the golden Manticore effectively rammed his head into Grayris' ribs, winding her and making her let go. Falling to the floor, Grayris quickly rose back up and got hold of a tray covered in various Fallen drinks, which were stored in fragile glass containers. The bottles smashing against Midas' chest, the golden Vex now looked like a bad art painting, his chassis being reflective gold with various, randomly spattered traces of red, green, blue, and even pink dripping off. Understandably irate, Midas caught the tray Grayris swung in his free hand, wrenching it free before thwacking the Baroness as hard as physically possible with it. The tray bending 90 degrees at its halfway point and emitting a loud, humorous clang on impact, the blow was evidently enough to daze Grayris, putting her out of commission for now.

Back with the fight outside, the remaining Wolves had effectively tried to create a blockade, putting as intense of a volume of fire downrange to keep the Suns from helping out Raylik. Both Kells having lost their guns during the fight, Raylik was still winning through a heavy usage of the environment, smashing large storage barrels over Skolas' head and running him into the nearby buildings. Fully aware that he wasn't winning in a fair, standup fight, the Wolf Kell went for a dirty move as he braced his upper right hand against the side of Raylik's helmet. Pushing his lower right elbow into her abdomen, Skolas seized both of Raylik's right arms with his left ones, pushing Raylik away as he ripped both Raylik's right upper and right lower arm off. Unable to respond properly from the sudden flash of pain, now it was Raylik that was getting bullied around as Skolas took the offensive. Going for a less creative, more blunt assault of repeated straight-punches to the head, Skolas simply tried to batter the Sun Kell into submission. The strategy actually working, luck was still on Raylik's side as a far smaller, unseen Fallen stepped in to help.

Having gotten those new, replacement Shock Cores for her blades, Kyra gave the full-size Shock Blades in question a test-run as she darted out of an adjacent building, splitting Skolas' right shin-plating open and giving him a cauterized gash. Stabbing one blade through his left shin, Kyra quickly stepped up her game, clambering up Skolas' back before driving both blades into his shoulders. Causing quite a bit of damage, Kyra next aimed to lop the Wolf Kell's head off, unfortunately being bucked off Skolas' back and up over his head, tumbling onto the floor in front of him. Getting back to her feet, it wasn't fast enough as Kyra was snatched up in Skolas' lower hands, the Wolf Kell only finding her worth giving a brief snarl at before flinging the ex-Devil into a construction scaffolding. Landing with enough force to topple the scaffolding entirely, Kyra disappeared inside without a sound. Thinking he was still in the lead here, Skolas was sorely mistaken as Raylik, having regained her bearings, came back at him more ferocious than before. Even with only her left arms to use, Raylik still barged into Skolas, ripping one of the filters on his helmet off.

"_Kell of Kells?_ You're just a spineless Dreg who found some old bones thinking it's the ticket to _godhood!_ I don't care even if you spoke to the Great Machine itself, you _don't _come into _my _territory, disrupt _my _people, and rip _**my **__fucking arms off!" _Raylik yelled at the top of her lungs, obviously at the peak of her possible rage as she hauled Skolas into a right turn, running him face-first into a rising knee. Grabbing Skolas' upper right arm, Raylik quickly and mercilessly twisted it out of place, nearly wrenching it 180 degrees before swinging an upward kick between Skolas' legs. Seizing the other cable coming off his helmet, Raylik used this as a pull-cable to run Skolas into the same spike she tossed a Captain onto, piercing it through Skolas' left shoulder. Wrapping her upper left arm around his neck from behind, Raylik attempted to choke Skolas out, the Wolf Kell sadly being capable enough to break free. Getting himself off the spike, Skolas gave an order to the remaining Wolves, all of which scattered in various directions as Skolas shoved Raylik away before darting off. Knowing she could give chase easily, or even just ask Silus to put a round through Skolas' leg, she decided against it, figuring a live Skolas telling of how the Sun Kell kicked his ass was better than a dead Wolf Kell galvanizing the remaining Wolves.

"You know how I always said you had the fire to beat up a Kell with two arms tied behind your back? Does it still count if those arms are missing entirely?" Riksis asked, distinctly un-alarmed by Raylik's missing right arms. None of the other Suns seeming bothered by it either, Raylik calmly walked back over to the courtyard where Komodo and her Barons had gathered, Midas hauling the half-comatose Grayris in by the scruff of her neck. Throwing the dazed Wolf on the floor, Midas stepped back as Silus drew a Shock Dagger, probably having intended to interrogate her if Fate didn't have other plans. A strange, semi-cyan/white glow ripping itself into existence, the unusual orb appeared above Grayris before latching a tether between it and her. Grayris starting to become enveloped in a white/cyan fire, she noticeably woke up entirely, screaming intensely as it seemed like she was being burned alive. Staying like that for a second, Grayris began to rise before, in the blink of an eye, the orb seemed to suck her up, the Wolf Baroness literally being sucked into the unusual orb before it, and Grayris, disappeared without a trace. The whole crowd going silent, neither any member of Komodo nor any of the Suns had any kind of rational explanation, witty comment, or fearful speculation about what they just saw, it was just dead silence. Knowing her people would look to her for hope on this, Raylik forced herself to break the silence.

"Well, whatever that was…..I'm genuinely at a loss for words about what we just witnessed. It didn't look like anything utilized by the Cabal, Hive, Vex, not even the Guardians. But, whatever it was, we can beat it back just like we did the Wolves today. And perhaps, maybe it's not even a threat: Maybe the Awoken have developed some kind of new remote-seizure weapon to claim targets from far away. For now, we should focus on repairing the damage, helping the wounded and burying the dead, and most important of all, thanking our guests here for their continued aid. Both to Killian and the Guardians, Fireteam…Iguana." Raylik spoke to the crowd of Suns, awkwardly pausing after Fireteam as she tried, and failed, to remember Fireteam Komodo's group-name. The incorrect usage of a different reptile instead of Komodo possibly being due to a lingering adrenaline high after losing her arms, the Fireteam let it slip as Raylik came up to Riksis with a specific offer. "I'm serious, Riksis…we could find something for you to do here, and you _know _I wouldn't mind having you around. Even with our Archon still alive, we could make something work for you now that you've turned on the Devils."

"Believe me, I don't hold any bad blood, but I feel like I'd be best with these Guardians. Kyra's got a good feeling about them, and I still regret not being able to support her ideals about the Great Machine better when she and I were in the Devils. The least I can do for her now is to aid her in proving to those humans that not all Fallen are evil. I'm sure we'll see each other again fairly soon though, especially if you find things relevant to the Guardians' interests." Riksis assured, admittedly not interested in playing third-wheel to another Archon's bond with a Prime Servitor. Kyra actually hobbling her way over from the collapsed scaffolding she landed in, Raylik's response made it possibly the worst time for her to have walked in, namely for Kyra's sake.

"Alright, suit yourself…still, feel free to come by at your leisure. I'm sure stress relief with Kyra is difficult at best given the size difference between you two, after all." Raylik bluntly and shamelessly commented, even the non-Fallen knowing exactly what Raylik meant as Kyra, once again, went to go hide behind Riksis and wish she weren't here.

Author's Note

To start, I just want to give a massive apology for the wait on this. I got it to where Killian first pops up relatively fast, then I got sick (Not, like, _so _ridiculously sick that you think you're going to die, but sick enough that you don't even feel like doing things that entertain you, you just want to sleep), and after being relatively useless during that, I actually forgot LOTP 13 was in progress for a few days, eventually got it down to the Author's Note, and _then _Black Ops 3 came out, go figure it's a COD game that actually interests me that comes out at a time like this. I've always loved cybernetic augmentation and automated infantry/drones, so even though it's a given that much of the game's pretty similar, this is finally a setting I'm genuinely drawn into rather than it being just 'meh'. My interest's more in the art design and such (And come on, give me a mechanical playable character with an arm-integrated minigun? Sold), so no worries, I'm not one of those idiots that thinks it's not similar to previous games at all.

But, moving back to the story itself, I first wanted to mention that the murder-subplot brought up by Cayde during this chapter is something I've been meaning to put in for a _very _long time. It's been planned since Chapter 1, and since about Chapter 3 or so I've always been saying "Gotta put that murder subplot in somewhere so I can get it rolling sooner….." and I always forgot, so 10 chapters later I finally remembered and found a non-shoed-in place to put it. Speaking of Cayde, this chapter marks the first "Brand New" dialogue I've written for him since TTK released. Yes I went back over the last time he showed up in the story when I revised a lot of stuff, but this is the first time I've gotten to really have him shine since we saw so much more of his personality in TTK. I'll admit, before TTK I thought the kind of flippant, comedic behavior that made him so great in TTK was something I'd get slammed for on account of calling it overly out of character if I did it before that, so I really tried to take it and run with it for this one. As such, any comments on yay/nay for Cayde's behavior in this chapter is greatly appreciated.

Moving on from that, and speaking of getting slammed, I actually got slammed by the people I talk with a lot in developing this story because I fluffed over going into my usual explanation of new characters I introduce by kinda ignoring Niro in the last Author's Note, since there was actually a fairly decent amount of work that went into making him intricately reference things related to his design. For starters, the reason his eyes, grenades, and melee energy are white aren't some sort of "Anti-Oryx" or Light theme, it's actually a reference to him being a Sunsinger because while yes, from here the sun looks orange, it's actually white (Only orange because of the atmosphere distorting it), so it's almost like he's closer to the sun than before. In addition, the choice to give him a hood attached to his black Heart of the Praxic Fire is intended as a reference to certain Warlock helmets that mention early Orders preferring a concealing hood in public, making a nod to his age as an old Warlock that's been resurrected in a way. As for musical inspiration, another thing that slipped past me, the primary ones that led me to Niro's design were the songs The Tiger Warrior and Warlord, both by Mick Gordon. Obviously not lyrically significant, it just helped drive the "Ritualistic" theme that works as a hybrid of Hive and Warlock.

Finally, on the matter of his weapons, it's supposed to be the Doom of Chelchis and Silence of A'Arn, it just felt like it would be out of place to name them directly in-chapter since they're not Tower-issued guns. As for his Heavy weapon, the intention's for him to have a Sword, the only reason he doesn't have it yet is we've been going back and forth about how to explain multiple people having Swords just in-case a future fan submission has a Sword heavy since, technically, the Sword in-game came from Willbreaker. So….are you the player technically the only Sword owner? Or can you just crack any random Cleaver open and use its crystal?

Finally, on the matter of the Fallen in this chapter, Killian is actually the "Unnamed Fallen Gunslinger" mentioned in an Author's Note a few chapters back. I was wondering why nobody really commented on it, and one of the people I work with for this mentioned that it was kinda open to interpretation on whether I meant a Western Gunslinger (IE what he's styled after, between the large knives, lever-action rifle, and heavier Shock Pistols styled like powerful revolvers) or that I meant a literal Fallen wielding the power of a Hunter Gunslinger, so she figured a fear of it being the latter might've frozen people over on commenting on it. As for musical inspiration, the primary ones for him were Same Ol' by The Heavy (Which admittedly might just be because it was used in the Hateful Eight trailer) and the song My Shooting Star by Miracle of Sound (Which, admittedly, also kinda fueled the Firefly references with Cayde). Not really lyrical significance, just tone and theme.

As for Silus, I wanted to use him as a sort of preview for the theme of the House of Iron that I believe I mentioned last Author's Note. Not sure when exactly they'll appear, but I can confirm that their first appearance will be Skolas trying to take them over, which is the same way I intend to debut another new House we developed called the House of Bone. Not sharing much on them right now, but it shouldn't be too long until they show up too. As for the next chapter, that's going to be Oryx's arrival, specifically showing what the Taken arriving is like outside of Phobos since Zavala says even while still on Phobos that Taken were being reported "Across the system", so this will be an example of that.


	14. The Taken King

Chapter 14: The Taken King

_At a non-City settlement built in the ruins of Vevey, Switzerland, 4PM….._

Laying on a surprisingly well-kept and clean bed, Alvara and a few other Guardians were taking up temporary residence in the rebuilt town of Vevey. Founded by some desperate Collapse survivors that couldn't make it to the City, the town's reputation slowly glided from being squatted in by desperate and ragged loners to having an established, connected community and real reconstruction efforts. Being outside the City's walls, Guardians like Alvara were here to keep morale up in the face of possible attacks by Fallen or Hive. Thankfully, as it was a relatively peaceful place, the temporary job was more 'hang around and enjoy, then go shoot some stuff if a non-Human/Exo/Awoken turns up' rather than being on constant, vigilant patrol. The townsfolk welcoming their security with open arms, it didn't mean the Guardians were safe from each other.

"Getting comfortable on there? Don't fall asleep on me now…I heard this place has a surprisingly fun night-life. You know…despite being the reforged ruins of a brick and mortar rural town." Airada, Alvara's other and youngest sister joked as she took up a chair, turning the back of it to face her older sister before sitting in it backwards, resting her arms on the top of the back-piece. Having not seen her younger sister in a while, Alvara took specific note of Airada's Samsara I helmet, Kallipolis Gloves, Seraph II chest, Haliaetus II legs, White Polygon Construct bond, and the whole thing painted in Surfbreaker colors. Both Guardians having their helmets off, the two more closely resembled each other than they did their oldest sister Sivala. Whereas Sivala's skin had a faint purple hue to it, both Alvara and Airada's skin were both a purer, darker blue color, the main difference being Alvara's orange eyes and facial markings VS Airada's blue eyes and facial markings. Almost perpetuating a weird genetic trend in their family, the body proportions seemed to go up as you went lower on the age-scale, with Airada towering over both Sivala and Alvara at 6'3". Big-boned to boot, it comes as a surprise to many whenever they learn that the big-bodied, monolithic Warlock was 8 years younger than a stubby Titan.

"You know, you're the one Warlock I've ever met that takes more interest in an out-of-City settlement's night-life than some dusty old books they might find in a cellar. You sure you're not just a Titan with an identity crisis?" Alvara jabbed back, admittedly at risk of falling asleep from the comfort of her new armor. Having gotten rid of her Rustburner set, Alvara was now using a full set of Bog Wild armor, including the cloak, and got the whole set tinted to Polar Oak colors. Having her hood thrown back for once, the helmet was currently sitting on the right bedside stand, which is also what she propped her new Zhalo Supercell rifle against.

"Eh, I think it happens for a reason….if I was a Titan, I'd just be there to make Sivala feel bad about her height. At least this way she can argue that, while I may be taller, I can't dropkick a concrete wall open like she can. Besides, being a Warlock means it's far less out of character for me to say something like I've got a talking gun." Airada countered, referring to Toland's old Bad Juju rifle mounted on her back. Having been fixed up with a new barrel and other components, according to Airada, the 'soul' of the gun that made it what it was came from the bones that Toland had so strangely strapped to it, especially the skull at the front. In response to that statement, Bad Juju let off a soft, gentle rumble that couldn't be heard, but could be felt.

_You could let me speak for myself once in a while….even if it's not too easy to invade someone's thoughts and __**not **__have them freak out that the sentient Pulse Rifle on someone's back is talking inside their head. _Bad Juju 'spoke', the felt rumble from the gun translating to distinct, not-inside-voice thoughts in both Guardians' heads. Not able to move on its own in any fashion or fire itself on a whim, Bad Juju's main party tricks were its telepathic rumble-speech, and its ability to independently manufacture ammunition within its own magazine, seemingly from nowhere. Airada having been approached twice now with offers of financial compensation in exchange for letting companies such as SUROS figure out this sorcery, both requests had been adamantly denied.

"If I let you speak for yourself, people would be filing restraining orders against me for severe invasion of privacy. I know you: Once you get in someone's head, you just don't let go." Airada openly spoke back to the gun, actually saying her last sentence with an endearing tone, almost as if she were poking fun at it.

"Like people would find _that _weird…..last time Sivala invited me over to the place you, her and Komo share, I saw your room. I don't think any _normal _person would use their power just to keep a Thrall skull from disintegrating so they can turn it into a _jumbo-bobblehead._ Nor would any normal person mock up an entire Goblin from detached armor plating on a metal-wire armature so they can pose it to their heart's content. Yeah you've got a lot of dusty old books in there, but _really?_ _A jumbo-bobblehead? _And don't get me started on the hair." Alvara poked fun, specifically calling back to Airada's unusual haircut. Dark blue in color, it seemed relatively tame in the front, but incredibly spiky in the back. Not innately strange, what made it strange was Airada's choice to style those spikes all pointing off to one side, her sisters joking that it looked like the aftereffect of a bomb going off inside her head, or that she styled her hair with a hand-grenade. About to give a comeback, Airada was cut short when another Guardian and a fellow Awoken, Almarra, entered the room.

"Have fun with your 'target practice'? At least, as much fun as you can have just striking metal sheets repeatedly." Alvara asked, off-handedly admitting that, this being a rural settlement, the best the locals would be able to scrounge up for Almarra would be some measly target-boards, no fancy simulated hostiles to properly show off her skill. Being a Gunslinger Hunter much like Merikh, the biggest difference between her and Merikh was her strict adherence to, and almost obsession with repeated, precise shot-patterns. Always striving for headshots, Almarra almost wore the signs of her success to a degree, being set up with a Celestial Nighthawk helmet, Iron Breed Sleeves and Vest, and Sanction Custom legs. Colored in Goldspiral colors with the Perun's Mantle cloak, Almarra had turned her adherence to precision into a stat-tracking game, her Ghost keeping an active counter of Almarra's successive headshots and calling out her highest total after a fight. Most suspecting her to be a cold-hearted bitch due to her uncompromising performance commitment, it never failed to surprise people when she responded like a normal, friendly individual.

"Not really worth wasting the ammo out here…their targets don't move, so what's the point? Instead, I spent the past half-hour linking Ghosts with Kalari so we could watch the Crucible matches out here. Zavala wants to get a non-military signal network going outside the City eventually, but in the meantime, it's the best we got. Kinda glad I did though…you know those No Land Beyond rifles?" Almarra asked, sounding exceptionally into it. Some Guardians avoided the Crucible, some didn't mind it, and some, like Almarra, were always watching and studying for new ideas and ways to improve.

"Yeah, real pieces of junk. Tried selling one I came across to a Hunter, and he just looked at me like I was trying to buy the Traveler for 20 Glimmer. Needless to say I didn't even get a dignified response, he just…..walked off." Airada admitted, showing what kind of reputation the guns had.

"Well someone actually _won _with the damn thing! Some Hunter named Junko won a Rumble match about 10 minutes ago with just the No Land Beyond, nothing else. Shaxx actually postponed the next match so he could examine the gun on-camera and make sure she wasn't cheating, and sure enough, she wasn't. No modifications to the barrel, no illegal ammo, none of that. She basically won a barfight with a toothpick, and now every Titan and Hunter in that match is moping off with their busted-up dignity knowing they lost to a glorified stick with sights on it." Almarra explained, sounding almost excited that someone actually brought something new to the Crucible for her to pick and learn from. "Oh, also, Kalari wanted to see you. Said something about some old books some of the locals found, and since you're the only Warlock here, you're the best option for being able to date them and all that."

The two Awoken getting up to leave, Alvara was left all alone in the room now, the Awoken Bladedancer deciding to ease up and go to sleep. Letting off a deep breath, Alvara's peaceful state was broken by a bizarre, indescribable rupture-like noise off to her left. Snapping into an upright sitting position, Alvara had just enough time to sit upright and twist herself to face the bed's left side, being greeted by what she could only describe as a demented Psion. Completely different in coloration, part of the Psion's body almost looked like the void of space itself, completely black and soulless, while the rest was a searing, pure white color. Possessing a single, glowing eye right where the helmet optic normally was, this eye instead looked like a burning gateway to oblivion, not just a helmet optic. Twitching and jittering at random, the unarmed Psion leapt right for her, pinning Alvara against the bed. Getting one hand on her neck, the Psion attempted to pummel Alvara's face flat with the other, the Awoken Hunter narrowly jerking her head out of the way. Not knowing what the effects would be, Alvara took a chance and used Blink, teleporting her free from the Psion's grip and up into the air.

Moronically latching onto the inactive, ceiling-mounted fan through pure instinct, Alvara misjudged her weight and the structural integrity of the room, taking the fan free from its mount as she, and the fan, landed on the Psion's back. Pushing the inactive junk off of her, Alvara scrambled off the bed's left side. Not operating too well under these blatantly surprise-circumstances, Alvara made the best of it as the re-adjusted Psion clambered for her. Seizing the decorative desk-lamp placed on the left bedside stand, Alvara took this as a note to _never _remove her knife from her person again as she brained the Psion with the lamp, smashing it to bits while the Psion went limp. Not dead, the Psion was nonetheless out of commission while Alvara moved back around to the bed's right side, seizing her knife before ramming it into the Psion's lower back. Properly killing it, things got even stranger as, instead of just going limp, the Psion dissipated into a sort of white goo, most of the body looking like it had disappeared into another dimension.

At a loss for words, Alvara instead sheathed her knife and collected her helmet and Zhalo rifle, racing out the door to find her fellow Guardians. Going down the stairs to the lodge-like building's first floor, Alvara didn't see any Guardians, just confused settlers, prompting her to run out the door. Looking around at the rest of the town, the rebuilt Vevey tried to retain as much of the original as possible, with an old-style stone cathedral not far off down the road in front of her. Most of the buildings being painted concrete and brick, some of the buildings still had a war-torn look, missing chunks of their corners or walls in distinct shapes resembling the after-effects of explosions. The locals having just made the best of it, Alvara's fear for the local populace would grow as her Ghost brought an unwanted sight to her eye.

"You're…going to want to see this. Zavala just put out a warning across all Guardian channels about something called the 'Taken', and they match what we just saw." Alvara's Ghost warned, his outer plates splitting off to project a holographic display of various incoming footage. Blued over from the rushed projection quality, Alvara nonetheless understood what she was watching. Cutting from view to view, the scenes were grotesque and foreboding, starting with security footage in what was actually Merikh's old Iceland village. Recognizing the center of the town, the entire place was in fiery ruins. Chunks of buildings were scattered about, bodies and pieces of bodies were strewn around in a manner that looked like they died running, and all through the town what looked to be Hive and Cabal with the same distorted, soulless look as that Psion simply marched together. Moving as one, it's like they were bound by a central power as, without hesitation, they continued to raze and demolish the remains of the village. Cutting to different footage, Alvara's Ghost revealed more of the same across the planet, villages and outposts across the world falling to the tsunami of Taken death. Showing no emotion, empathy or mercy, the Taken just marched and killed indiscriminately, planted surveillance beacon footage showing the same behavior was being given to Fallen, Vex, and Cabal across the system.

"Ghost….get in touch with the rest of the team, especially Merikh. We've been fighting to defend a broken god, and I think…I think our fight just woke a sleeping one." Alvara asked as she watched the footage, unable to stop her voice from reaching a low, warped tone synonymous with pure horror. Realizing that these Taken seemed to march with the normal Hive, the implications of it made things even more worrisome until Alvara noticed an anomaly in the footage. A number of white dots appearing in the screen, both Alvara and her Ghost soon caught on as her Ghost deactivated the footage, giving way to the sight of an in-the-flesh Taken force marching right for her. Comprised of the same Cabal/Hive mix as in the footage, Alvara almost couldn't believe her eyes as the marching force, a good 40 at the least, began opening fire on the town. The Knights wielding strange Void-damage Boomers while the Psions and Phalanxes fired Arc rounds from their Slug Rifles, Alvara's usually-unbreakable demeanor was now broken in the face of the unknown, running for cover as the Boomers blasted large chunks from the scenery. Taking cover around a corner, Alvara sat with her back against the wall, head pressed flat to the wall and her Zhalo rifle pointing up, the stock resting on her right thigh. Trying to keep herself calm, that effort became a bit easier as a rocket flew by. Blasting into the Taken's front ranks, the Taken scattered and sought actual cover as the rocket's blast left behind a tall bed of fire. Burning some of the Psions to death, the flame-patch's resemblance to the flaming towns in the security footage made it hard for Alvara to see it as a relief despite where it came from.

Looking where the rocket came from, Alvara spotted another of the Guardians stationed here, the Exo Sunbreaker Kalari-99. Wearing a custom-modified set of Murvaux Type 0 arms/legs and Duskrender Type 0 chest/helmet, as well as the Season of Ages XII Mark, the dark green armor was decorated with six exhaust pipes poking off the chestplate's back half, as well as vents on the shins, the bottom-front of the helmet and the forearms that emitted a faint, but steady trail of smoke. To top it off, the armor was given a custom paintjob on top of the dark green, with the front of the chestplate, helmet, shoulders and shins getting a stylized shark-face paintjob. Not intended to be true to life, it was instead exaggerated in the same manner as the one on the front of her Dragon's Breath launcher, which Kalari had just put away in favor of her Herja-D Pulse Rifle. Seeing Airada and Almarra with her, that was at least one tiny relief as Alvara thought next on how they'd save the civilians.

"_Sis! _You alright? We were just coming back to get you when the villagers started going on about demons coming for the town. Are those….Phalanxes? Working with the Hive?" Airada asked as she ran to kneel by her older sister, taking a moment to peek out and examine the phenomenon. Taking an Arc-Slug Rifle round to the visor, Airada was thrown off-balance, noticeably falling backwards. Shaking it off, the younger Awoken decided to move further into cover as Kalari and Almarra actively engaged the Taken. Knowing Alvara had obviously seen _something _unpleasant, Airada put down her Bad Juju rifle to grab her older sister's arms with both hands, forcing the Hunter to look at her. "Listen: You need to stay calm. Almarra and Kalari can kill these things, so for right now, we need to worry about getting as many villagers out of this town as possible. Whatever it is you're seeing in your head, we're _not _going to let that happen here."

Seeing her point, Alvara took a deep breath before taking her younger sister's hand, both Awoken getting up and taking a right to go around the building's far side. Immediately regretting it, Airada's heart almost sank as she could feel her consoling words be invalidated, a villager darting out the door of a nearby house with two Taken Psions on his tail. Taking an Arc-Slug to the leg, the man was quickly and savagely jumped, one of the two Psions jumping right onto the man's back before pulling his head off like a cheap toy. Alvara dropping the Psion, another bender was thrown into their day as the other Psion twitched more than normal, followed by a brand new Taken Psion almost emerging from the existing Psion's side. Splitting like a pair of amoebas, the two Psions now acted independently, not getting long to act on it as Alvara's Zhalo rifle shocked both to death. Considering that building to be empty, the two Awoken moved past it to the next one, entering through the back-door into what resembled a tavern. The far wall having a large, stained-glass window masking the outside while the inside was decorated with refurbished wooden chairs and tables, most of those tables were serving as a place to hide for various locals.

"Alright everyone, get up and head out to your right. Get to the edge of town and do _not _come back, just get out and head for the nearest underground shelter. Don't wait for us, don't try to be heroes, just _go_. _Now!_" Airada guided, yelling the 'now' part to spark them into moving as the villagers scrambled to their feet, running out the door as instructed. The last of the villagers escaping, Airada's yelling drew some bad attention as a Taken Cavalier shoulder-bashed through the stained-glass window. Breaking the wood and concrete surrounding the window as well, the demented Cavalier's warped appearance matched its blades, which were the same dark-space-like black near the handle, transitioning to white flame as you went up the blade. The front edge having an orange, fire-like hue to it, both Cleavers left a fire-like trail behind each one as the Cavalier swung, going for Airada first. The Warlock falling backwards into a sitting position, it was far from a bad spot as she threw her free hand forward, a quick blast of lightning knocking the Taken Cavalier against the wall behind it.

Thinking the Cavalier was dazed, Alvara drew her knife with plans to stick the Taken in the neck, getting a harsh surprise as the Taken Cavalier lashed back to its feet. Her shields absorbing the impact of the Cavalier's right blade hitting her stomach, Alvara was spared a bisection due to the low velocity, instead merely being carried off her feet and thrown back, over the tavern's bar, and into a shelf of miscellaneous drinks. Hitting the shelves much like the Cavalier hit the wall, Alvara haphazardly threw a Skip Grenade against the roof, the set of micro-bombs homing in on the Cavalier's back. Doing a decent amount of damage, the Cavalier strangely lashed at Airada, scraping the front of her helmet, before fleeing the tavern. Running clear out of sight, neither one thought much of it.

"I thought you were a Sunsinger…..since when did you learn to shoot lightning out of your hands?" Alvara asked, her younger sister helping the Hunter to her feet with her free hand.

"Ikora had a few Guardians go hunt down some special Conductive Minds to bring back the Stormcaller arts. Got to kill some Vex, play in a thunderstorm, and now when people ask about the hair, I can say 'Yes, in fact, I _did _get struck by lightning'. But, more importantly, we need to keep moving. Hopefully not _everyone _behind the Taken's current line is dead." Airada explained, not seeming bothered about the other Guardians' ability to hold them back.

"What about the other Guardians? If there are more of those Cavaliers out there, I'm not so sure they can keep it together for very long." Alvara figured, admittedly a bit on edge still. As if to calm her nerves and prove her wrong, a loud clang could be heard from outside the tavern, followed by both Guardians witnessing a flaming, short hammer go flying from the left side of their vision to the right. Passing out of sight, the hammer found its mark, sounding like it took out at least 5 or 6 Taken at once. Considering herself proven wrong, Alvara silently followed her younger sister back out the door they entered through, intending to move to the next house down the line. Passing by a wooden, ramshackle fence, neither sister could see the demented glow in time as the wounded Cavalier from before bursted through the fence. Both blades swinging at once, the Cavalier was proving itself to be extremely adept with the weapons. Swinging high and low, and even creating a greater spectacle by twirling the blades mid-swing, the Cavalier's big thing was it kept in motion. Throwing one of its Cleavers, the blade lodged itself in a nearby building, but was far from out of play.

"Sis, behind you!" Airada called out, causing Alvara to instinctively Blink upwards as the Cavalier's lodged Cleaver moved on its own, wrenching itself free from the building and flying in a straight line back to its owner. Using her height to her advantage, Alvara let herself fall towards the Cavalier, latching onto his front before pulling her legs in close and swinging them over to hang off its back. Bracing her feet on the Cavalier's hips, Alvara tried to shoot the Cavalier with her Zhalo while avoiding her own right foot, her sister having just as hard a time trying to shoot the Cavalier's head and not Alvara's. Considering all attempts to wrench Alvara off to be pointless, the Cavalier instead focused on Airada, making a right-to-left horizontal swing with its right Cleaver, to which Airada ducked under it. Standing right back up, the young Warlock didn't notice properly as the Cavalier moved its right arm back along the same line, belting her in the head with the bottom of its Cleaver. Knocking her over, the Cavalier twirled both Cleavers to hold them upside down in preparation of skewering Airada through the back, to which Alvara stopped with her Zhalo. Drawing her knife again, the Hunter stuck the Cavalier right in its single, glowing eye, causing a complete nerve-lockup. Giving off a low, guttural growl, the Cavalier was nonetheless gone, ejecting Alvara from its back as the entire creature seemed to be sucked into a mini-vortex that spawned from its eye. The vortex vanishing as soon as the Cavalier was gone, neither Guardian was quite sure if it was a cheap escape tactic or some kind of overload resulting in a critical reaction.

"You hear that? The gunfire stopped….think everyone's alright?" Alvara pointed out, knowing it could go both ways: Either all the Taken were dead, or Almarra and Kalari were. Moving through the fence that the Cavalier smashed up, both Guardians crept to the building-corner to see copious amounts of white blood on the floor and both Guardians still standing, completely unharmed.

"That's a new record…..30 precision kills without a single miss in one gunfight. Want me to deduct points for kills on split-spawned Psions, or no?" Almarra's Ghost asked, saying so out loud as if for everyone else to know how precise she was. Not focusing on it, Alvara instead took a look around at the destruction left behind, with large patches of the ground charred black from a combination of the Taken Knights' Solar Boomers and Kalari's Dragon's Breath. Spotting a gruesome, bloody mess through another smashed-in building-front, Alvara tried not to focus on it. Feeling a dark shiver down her spine, everyone else felt it too, all the Guardians looking over where the Taken came from to see something much, much worse. A sizable Taken force slowly trudging towards them, the numbers grew on the spot, with multiple ruptures appearing to spawn in entire groups of more Taken. Large black orbs appearing on the various rooftops, these spawned even more abominations in the form of Taken Hobgoblins and Vandals, showing that even the Vex and Fallen weren't safe. At the front of the marching crowd was a floating, three-eyed creature with an unusual head that protruded right and left like a pair of sideways horns. Midnight black with glowing white eyes and white-tipped claws, the creature carried a large Cleaver in its right hand, instilling an unusual sense of pure, unfiltered death in the Guardians.

"Trust me, I know Guardians are powerful, and all of you aren't pushovers, but I'm detecting at least 500 Taken and rising in the town. We _might _want to leave." Alvara's Ghost said to all four Guardians, nobody really complaining as the Guardians openly turned tail and ran. The Taken opening fire in full force, it was a miracle that they weren't all cut down immediately. A hail of Arc Slugs and Shredder bolts sailing downrange, punctuated by the occasional Void Boomer impact, the Taken generated enough firepower output to account for both sides in a full-scale conflict. Airada, Kalari and Almarra continuing to make it out of town, Alvara was cut short by a Void Boomer impact directly to her right, singeing her right leg and forcing the Hunter into cover. Having been thrown off her feet and past a corner, Alvara's Ghost was already on top of things, hoping to remotely summon their ship and enact a _very _speedy Trans-Mat.

Seeing her ship come in, Alvara braced herself as she prepared to run for it, only to fall back to resting on her right thigh as she saw the ship get shot down. The right side getting seared open by a beam of some kind, the ship's crashing was soon revealed to be the cause of a Taken Ogre, which was leading ahead of the pack. Not sure how she'd get out now, Luck came back to her side as a dark green Blockade Runner with stylized shark-mouth paint on it flew through at high speed, slamming into the Ogre before gaining altitude. Having come in too fast for the Ogre to shoot it down, the ship effectively carried the Ogre off before gravity took hold, the Taken Ogre slipping off and crashing through the roof of a nearby church. With the biggest threat to aircraft down, Alvara got her ride out as a ship came in, floating near her position in preparation to Trans-Mat her.

"Get in, _fast! _Before these Taken shoot me down!" Airada's voice yelled over the ship's outboard speaker-system, prompting Alvara to clamber and stumble to her feet and into Trans-Mat range. Snatching up the Hunter, Airada gunned it immediately after, taking off at full speed for orbit. Setting the ship on auto once they escaped the town, Airada took her helmet off and placed it off to the side, stepping out of her seat and walking into the back portion of her ship. Seeing Alvara sitting on the floor, the Hunter's right boot was pulled off and her pants leg pulled up to her knee, showing light burn-markings that her Ghost was inspecting. Kneeling down beside her older sister, Airada almost found it weird that it was the little sister playing the comforting role for once. "Think you'll be fine? Because if not, I'm sure I've got something around that can help you walk until we get back to the City."

"I'll manage for now, thanks…..but we're not going to the City. Got a message from Caldwell calling everyone in Komodo to the Reef. Apparently the Queen has opened up the Vestian Outpost for Guardians and any non-hostiles with the capability to go there, and we've specifically been called out because of our run-in with Skolas in Africa. You wouldn't mind taking us there, would you?" Alvara asked, pulling her helmet off. Summoning her own Ghost, Airada made a light head-gesture towards the cockpit before the Ghost floated away, indicating a silent agreement. With her Ghost taking care of the destination adjustment, Airada moved to take a seat next to her older sister, holding the smaller Awoken close.

"I know this probably doesn't mean much since I'm the youngest of us three, but whatever that thing was, whatever these Taken are, they won't take us, and they won't take the City. And above all else, if they want to take you or Sivala, they've got to get rid of me first. That's a promise I'll keep until the day they figure out how to kill me for good." Airada consoled, hoping to help at least somewhat in the face of this oncoming war.

_Hours later in the Vestian Outpost, The Reef….._

Finally getting through all the ship-based security checks and confirmations, Airada and Alvara Trans-Matted out of Airada's ship to find Reef personnel, Awoken and Frame alike, all running to and fro in a frenetic dash. Passing information back and forth, managing incoming and outgoing ships and signals, many of them seemed like they were up to their neck in work, while still more Awoken were off to the side. These other Awoken looking completely crushed in spirit, both Guardians quickly got the feeling that something very, _very _bad had happened recently. Hobbling along with Airada's assistance, Alvara's right foot still lacked a boot with her pants leg at her knee, her shin and foot being wrapped in bandaging as per Airada's repeated request. Thankfully, it wasn't very hard to spot their group in the mix thanks to Riksis' height and Midas' golden plating.

"The hell's going on with the Awoken here? Is the Reef under attack or something? Also, uh…..is Merikh alright?" Alvara asked as they approached Caldwell, the Exo Warlock looking just as grim as before he met the Exo Stranger. Quickly passing an eye over the rest of the group, Alvara effectively went on a checklist to ensure everyone was alright. Spotting Barrett, Kyra, Carwyn, Niro, Midas, and Riksis all perfectly fine, Alvara's heart was put at ease when Merikh stepped into view from behind Midas. Completely unscathed, the one difference to his appearance was his decision to swap his old helmet out for a Celestial Nighthawk.

"The Queen's alive, but her brother probably isn't. According to what I could get out of the Awoken running by, the Queen's brother led an attack on a _massive _Hive ship near Saturn, and it deployed some kind of radial WMD that eviscerated the entire fleet and blew a large hole in Saturn's ring. All the Awoken present are either dead or drifting, and there hasn't been any contact with her brother, so he's on that list too. With him and half the Awoken fleet gone, everybody's running around like a bunch of headless chickens trying to account for who died and what the hell they're going to do now. Also…you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Merikh explained before Caldwell could, having been off trying to gather that info before the two sisters walked up. Noticing Alvara's bandaged foot, he figured _that _was a question best-suited for later.

"The settlement at Vevey got destroyed, those…._Taken _or whatever Zavala called them showed up and overran us. However they're made, they've got Cabal, Vex, even Fallen working along with the Hive, and they've got new abilities. And, as for seeing a ghost…..my Ghost showed me security footage of your old village in ruins. I was worried you might've gone down with it." Alvara explained, taking a deep breath to explain her confusion.

"That old wasteland? My people haven't been there in a _while. _Place is completely abandoned after the Vex attacked it so long ago, so those dead bodies you saw were probably just looters or drifters that came through at a bad time. The big question _now _though is why would they attack a little scrapheap that people don't even live in anymore." Merikh pondered, yet another abrupt arrival butting into the conversation as their good friend that only Caldwell knew, the Exo Stranger, seemingly stepped in from the crowd.

"I got through to the Vanguard like you asked, Caldwell. According to what Eris Morn had to say, that horn-headed monster leading attacks across the solar system is the Hive god Oryx, and he's here because we killed his son, Crota. There's been confirmed attacks on human settlements in Iceland, Russia, Asia, North and South America, just about everywhere outside the City that you can think of. As for Oryx himself, Eris believes he's hiding on the Dreadnaught, that giant Hive ship that blew out part of Saturn's ring. Ikora's scouts said that Oryx committed too much friendly fire and has delayed his advance into the inner system, so we've been bought some time, but there's no telling how long it'll be until he gets more ships to arrive. For right now we just need to keep as much radio silence as possible when here at the Vestian Outpost to avoid giving it away, so I'll check back in with them frequently for any updates." The Exo Stranger listed off, oddly more invested and less distant compared to how she usually was.

"He's here because Crota died? _Shit….." _Merikh asked, hissing his curse in frustration due to his own hand in the Prince's demise. Midas turning to him with a feeling of suspicion, the Vex Axis Mind was possibly on to something.

"Merikh, can your Ghost let me analyze the recording of your fight against Crota?" Midas inquired, getting his wish with little resistance. Going over the recordings, Midas' suspicions were right on-point. "After calculating all alternate scenarios based on the footage, I think I know why that Mormo was after you back on Europa: In all scenarios where you fail your killshot on the Knight attempting to kill Sibuna, no matter how fast your followup, Sibuna is killed, triggering a cataclysmic reaction. You, Sivala, and all of Coalition are mercilessly vaporized and your Ghosts destroyed, resulting in Crota's survival. Your hand didn't cut Crota down personally, but it's because of you that Sibuna was allowed to cut him down, so in a sense, it's _you _that killed Crota. Oryx's attack on your village might've been a pinpoint effort to try and exterminate you. In short, I believe the Hive god is _hunting _you."

"_Fun….._Cayde's probably going to have a field-day when he hears about this one. Can you project the chances of Sivala being alive by any chance?" Merikh asked, trying his hardest to sound like it was purely out of curiosity. Not getting a vocal answer, Merikh instead got a comedic pointing gesture to behind Merikh from the golden Vex, prompting Merikh to turn around and find his answer. Finding the short Titan to be embracing both of her sisters, it was probably the most caring Merikh had ever seen her be. Lingering on it for a moment, the storm of different emotions going around through the group was stomped flat by the clang of a metal staff striking the floor twice, getting everyone's attention.

"Guardians…by word of the Queen, we are to work together against this new threat. Some of you have fought Skolas, yes? Seen the Wolf Kell, heard his claims to be Kell of Kells. Together we can bring him before House Judgment, ideally before he gets us all killed, yes? You can call me Variks, the Loyal." Variks, a forward-hunched Fallen with rudimentary, ugly cybernetic arms and a distinct green color scheme to his outfit greeted, hobbling forward with a tall staff in hand. Vandal-sized, his chest was adorned with a unique logo, which most likely belonged to the House of Judgment that he mentioned.

"Yeah, we've seen Skolas. I take it you have reason to believe where he'll be next?" Caldwell replied, finding Variks' 'accent' to be odd compared to the normal speech he heard from Kyra, Riksis, and the Suns. Nodding, Variks gestured for the group to follow him as he walked off, back towards a hut-like metal structure not far off. Adorned with green flags possessing the same logo as Variks' chest, the hut's entryway was just a simple cloth barrier to block vision. Variks heading inside, the group had a moment of hesitation as they realized they had some exceptionally plus-sized members. Riksis agreeing to stay outside, the rest of the group, including the Stranger, Airada, and Sivala, all entered the hut to see what Variks had to say. Decorated with a number of various carved stones, small Judgment flags, and decorative beads hanging from the roof, the interior looked like a true shaman's hut. A small holographic projection-table located in the center, Variks walked around to the far side of the table, right next to an Awoken woman dressed in similar attire to the other Awoken around, only without the helmet. Her hair tied back, the Awoken was easily distinguished by her missing eye, which was covered by an ornate strapless eye-patch.

"So you're the Guardians I've been told to work with…..right, down to business. The name's Petra by the way." Petra greeted, activating the hologram-table to project a map of Earth's continents. A red blip appearing in Africa, the location roughly matched up to where the Suns' settlement was. "For now, we need to track Skolas and take him down. Your fight with him in Africa was the first sighting, and since then he's been spotted in Old Russia trying to negotiate with the Devils and Kings. Another Guardian ruined both of those attempts, so going off what we know about Houses on Earth, his next stop's going to be the House of Iron in Germany. They're contesting the land with the Cabal, and with these Taken appearing too, it's a prime target for Skolas to swoop in and make himself look like a savior. If I had to guess, after that he'd probably either go for the House of Bone in South America or the House of Earth in North America. It's quite the trek, but Skolas is going to want any reinforcements he can get here. Last I heard both of those Houses are human-tolerant, so if you get to them first, you might be able to turn them to your cause instead of his."

"So we're racing to play leader against a giant zealot….fun." Kyra noted, taking close note of the different red blips popping up in Germany and both North and South America. Catching Variks' attention, he didn't seem to notice at first that a fellow Fallen was in the group.

"Skolas is overzealous, but he is no laughing matter. Vicious, vicious creature he was. What he lacks in restraint, he makes up for in pure power, so tread lightly in House Iron's territory, yes?" Variks warned, sounding like he knew Skolas quite well.

"Duly noted…we'll take a trek into the House of Iron's territory after we get some more updates from the Vanguard. When we find Skolas, we'll see if we can take him out. If not, we'll come back here and revise the plan from there." Caldwell settled, trying to mediate the Skolas and Taken threats in tandem rather than letting one gain massive priority over the other.

"No need for so much legwork. With Queen's brother dead, a new master of the Crows had to be appointed. After my betrayal of Skolas in the Reef Wars, as well as the dire times we find ourselves in, dire times need….dire measures, yes?" Variks pointed out, insinuating that he's been appointed master of the Crow drones scattered across the solar system in Uldren's absence. "I will use Crow drones, track your movements. Track Skolas' movements. With that, we find him quick, before he kills us all."

"As much as I'm wary of the creaky shaman-Vandal, I'm not saying no to more intelligence." Merikh passively jabbed, making fun of Variks' weak appearance. Slowly hobbling over, Variks seemed to just stare at the tall Hunter, quickly shifting to a brief offensive as he lifted his staff, making one very fast jab at Merikh's foot with the bottom of it. Landing right on-target, Variks got his point across as he walked back to his previous position, Merikh only showing restraint due to Variks being a friendly as he tried to nonchalantly stand on only his other foot for a bit. Caldwell dismissing the group and telling them to leave the shack, Petra and all but one member left.

"You said you knew Skolas in the Reef Wars…what was he like?" Kyra asked, having lingered behind out of a strong desire to speak with a new, friendly Fallen. Taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs, Variks did the same, showing that he was ready to play ball.

"Skolas was unfathomable…..so full of hatred and vengeance, yet now he claims to be Kell of Kells." Variks began to explain, laughing a little after mentioning Skolas' claims. "The Kell of Kells is meant to unite the Houses, bring them all under a single banner and restore the Eliksni race to what it once was. In truth, I feel Skolas cares more for conquest and ultimate rule, not unity. When you see him, show no mercy. Unless Petra asks for him alive: Kill. Him. Dead."

"How can you so easily call us the Eliksni, like nothing happened? We lost that title when the Great Machine left us, and we'll need to get back in its good-graces before we can rightfully call ourselves anything but Fallen again. Do you believe we never did anything wrong? Or are you just a little bit senile, old man?" Kyra jabbed, somewhat annoyed at Variks' pride, as well as his speech impediment. Pausing for a moment, Variks strangely didn't seem angry or even offended. Instead, he simply sat there and thought on the words that had been exchanged, as well as taking a closer look at Kyra.

"You seem so young, yet you've got such strong opinions about our past. How did a…Fallen…..like you come to work with Guardians? Forced?" Variks inquired, getting up to get closer to her. Not getting up herself, Kyra nonetheless leaned back a bit to get a little bit more personal space between them.

"I cut them a deal: They save me when they found me near-dead, I abandon the Devils to come work with them. With Riksis tagging along now, I don't regret it in the slightest. As for my strong opinions, I feel there's a smarter way to get the Great Machine back than how the Kings are approaching it: It's still got a mind of its own, so what good does it do if we destroy the City and take it by force? It could still reject us. Part of the reason I joined them is so that maybe one day I can get close to it, perhaps have Riksis speak to it and help gain its favor with at least part of the population. I know you can't change evil, and Fallen like Skolas are a lost cause, but I'm hoping perhaps the ones that can still be saved will be able to find refuge in the City as well. At least, until both us and the Guardians are strong enough to make more focused living efforts outside of there." Kyra explained with a bit of an edge to her attitude, showing that her claims of making peace with the Great Machine were genuine rather than just a front. Letting off another small chuckle, Variks didn't seem to mind that she called him a senile old man.

"Finally, a fellow Eliksni with some admirable goals. It's too late for me, I'm just House Judgment Scribe to the Queen, and quite a coward. But you? You haven't lost your chance. You've had extensive contact with House Suns, yes?" Variks inquired, hoping to genuinely help here a bit. Finding the question a tad bit odd, Kyra nonetheless humored him on it.

"Yeah…I've met Raylik, quite the nice Kell. Seems a little laid-back unless something is trying to kill her, but nice nonetheless. Why?" Kyra wondered, not seeing what that Kell had to do with anything.

"Good girl, but she is no Kell of Kells, too relaxed, too content to merely defend her own and isolate from the rest. Skolas is no Kell of Kells either, but for worse reasons. I believe House Rain's tale is more than just a myth, and that _true _Kell of Kells simply has not shown their face. What Petra said is more important than you think: Seek House Bone and House Earth in the Americas, find a way there. Rally them, gain their support. Unity will not only destroy false Kell, but hopefully bring out true one. Whoever they may be." Variks explained, sounding equally passionate about this as Kyra was about her opinions on the Traveler. Thinking on it a bit, Kyra started to see past Variks' brittle frame and annoying mannerisms, understanding why he made it this far.

"That makes sense….gather as many likeminded Fallen together, and perhaps the true Kell of Kells can emerge. I take back what I said about you Variks, you're not quite the senile old man I first thought you were." Kyra reconciled, getting up give Variks a light hug as a show of good intentions. "I'll keep in touch, but keep this between us for now. As far as the Guardians can know, we're prioritizing the Houses of Bone and Earth purely as strategic cutoff points against Skolas, nothing more. If they know what we're really after, they might falsely assume it's bad for the City. I just hope you find your Kell of Kells in all this, for all our sakes."

"In truth, I think I already have….." Variks mumbled to himself as Kyra turned to leave, spotting the Traveler's logo on her hip before she exited. Smarter than he looked, Variks didn't want to repeat what happened with Skolas, so for now, he was going to keep his suspicions to himself. Going back to carving one of his rocks, Variks could only admittedly hope that he'd get to serve by her side at that point rather than sit here in a dinky little hut carving stones to satiate his boredom.

_Meanwhile, deep in the Tiveden Forest, Sweden….._

With the sun completely down, the Tiveden Forest fell silent aside from the natural sounds of wildlife, making for an effective cover to sneak in close to a lone wooden shack. Seemingly erected in a random spot in the forest, the shack was simple and effective, visibly lit through the windows by a few candles within. With plenty of tall trees around, it was very easy for a soon-to-be intruder to get close.

"There we are…get one last message out to the Vanguard, I've found the shack. Not sure if he's in here, but if he is, hopefully I can get some evidence and run. Just…keep my ship ready, might need a fast exit." Komo-49, the Nightstalker Hunter that made up the third member of Sivala and Airada's Fireteam spoke to her Ghost, currently laying stomach-down on a thick tree-branch as she spied on the shack. Dressed in a Bog Wild helmet, Sinaa Lamprey 1.0 arms, Bog Wild chest, Aspriet 1.0 legs, Highest Squidder cloak, and all colored in Nebula Glow colors, the Hunter was fairly hard to spot against the dark backdrop. Dropping off the tree, Komo transitioned into a Shadestep roll to keep the noise down as she rolled just short of the front door. Slowly advancing, Komo drew a Havoc Pigeon sidearm that she'd been given for this job in her right hand, the left gently opening the front door. Creaking it open slowly, the Exo Hunter looked around for any signs of the Hive. Feeling a dark presence emanate from the far back-left room, Komo quickly moved to enter, finding more than she bargained for.

"Well…..looks like we found the Vanguard's lost shipment." Komo's Ghost commented, the Hunter stopped dead as she found herself looking at an ornate Hive-style shrine, Crota's helmet sitting at the top with his sword embedded into the shrine just below that. A number of other smaller Hive artifacts draped over the shrine, Komo slowly approached with hopes of taking the helmet and Cleaver. Hearing a shotgun slide being racked, her synthetic blood ran a bit colder as she processed that sound, acting on instinct as she instead snatched the nearest Hive necklace off the shrine. Moving to leave, the door leading into the room had a large hole blown into it as a shotgun blast fired off, prompting Komo to instead go for the window. Shadestepping through the window, the shack's owner nonetheless knew where she was as she fled at full speed for the deeper parts of the forest. Clambering up the nearest tree, Komo's goal was to lose her pursuer by swiftly leaping from tree to tree.

Hearing the distinct footsteps of a sprinting Titan below her, rounds from an Auto Rifle began to tear up through the leaves, splitting and puncturing the branches underfoot. The pursuer somehow keeping pace despite her being an Exo at full-tilt movement, Komo tried to ignore the light grazing rounds that struck her shields, hoping to lose him eventually. The Auto Rifle rounds ceasing, Komo stopped in a tree, crouched in a tight squat in hopes that she couldn't be seen. Listening closely for any signs of the pursuer, things were back to the dead quiet of the forest, leading her to believe she'd lost her pursuer. Letting off a sigh of relief, that sigh turned into a gasp of panic as she heard a Rocket Launcher fire off, the section of tree just below her exploding in a blast of fire and wood-chips just a second later. Propelling the Hunter off her perch, Komo slammed back-first against a nearby tree before falling down, landing again to smash her back on a large rock before rolling off said rock, coming to rest in the dirt face-down.

Suffering a sensory overload from the high-impact damage to her exoskeleton, Komo could only barely crawl forward before she felt a heavy, golden boot slam itself down on her back. Clutching the necklace in her right hand, that necklace was forcibly removed from her possession as the Titan grabbed her arm, using his foot braced on her back to pull, ripping Komo's right arm clean off its shoulder-socket. Unable to contain her agony, Komo rolled onto her back as she screamed from the damage, her blurry visual feedback registering the Titan Sibuna standing before her. Komo's severed arm in his hands, the Titan wrenched the necklace from her fingers before barbarically tossing her severed arm back at her.

"Thieving Exo trash…" Sibuna mumbled, walking away and leaving Komo to writhe in the dirt as he left with the necklace. Empty-handed and experiencing a total sensory overload, Komo's Ghost sent out a distress signal for any nearby Guardians to help as the Exo Hunter went into emergency shutdown, ceasing all motion.

Author's Note

Finally got to finish this one, and just a few days short of my 18th birthday on the 15th too. Since this was a bit of a landmark chapter (The start of the Taken War), I wanted to go all-in with this one, hence the…..darker tone for this one. The whole story isn't turning into a tragedy tale with everyone fumbling and flubbing at what to do, it just went that way for this one because this was the Taken's first appearance, so it was meant to simulate the true fear that something like the Taken appearing out of nowhere would generate. If you think about it, the only reason we didn't freak out too much about the Taken is we, as players, knew all about it months in advance ala advertising. If they just dropped TTK as a silent update one day with The Coming War spontaneously appearing on Mars with no forewarning, the whole mission would've been _far _more suspenseful, and the Taken appearing would've blown far more minds and had players freaking out more, so that scenario was the biggest thing I tried to replicate. Getting a few things going with this chapter too, including truly including the Exo Stranger more, as well as rounding out Sivala's fireteam that you'd heard about, but never properly seen before now, and even bringing Petra and Variks into the story. Needless to say, all these characters will continue to pop up, as this story's redone take on TTK is explicitly designed to include all of them, Eris, the three City factions, Amanda Holliday, the Vanguard, essentially all the important NPCs except for Eva Levante. She could appear too, but there's not really anything I can think of to make a Shader-dealer valuable against Oryx.

While there are rewrites, changes and extensions, some bits remain the same (Such as Cayde's Stash), so we'll just have to see how it goes. In addition, about Uldren, I know about the "The Aftermath" Grimoire Card, but I'm keeping it to myself for the time being as to whether or not this story goes along with it to keep Uldren's fate a surprise within here. Maybe he lived, maybe he died. It'll be confirmed one way or another later on, but for now, it's up to question. Also, about the Taken, unique designs for the Tortured Taken have been laid out just like for the Axis Vex, Reaver Fallen, etc., and will ideally be cropping up quite soon. In regards to musical inspirations, a big part of the dark tone once the Taken arrived came from a big influence by Regicide from the Taken King soundtrack, specifically from when Alvara's Ghost shows the security footage essentially all through until they get to the Vestian Outpost. And, to a lesser degree, the song Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin also edged its way in there for obvious reasons, partially because of the obvious Oryx/Devil analogy, and to a lesser degree because of Breaking Benjamin's involvement in Halo 2 with Blow Me Away, so this is like it coming full-circle between the band and a Bungie-related work. For now, any comments on what stood out/ what you like the most is much appreciated, especially going forward as more original elements are introduced for TTK.

Almarra created, named and submitted by Julbot1

Junko created, named and submitted by The Assassin's mentor. In addition, the entire No Land Beyond bit was his idea, and added in at his request.


	15. The Cayde Strategy

Chapter 15: The Cayde Strategy

_Inside Room 28C, Tower Med-Wing, The Last City….._

As part of Cayde's so-called 'perfect plan' to stop Oryx, he called for Alvara, Merikh, and Caldwell to meet him in a very specific room of the Tower's Med-Wing. Unsure of why the Hunter Vanguard would choose a random med-room to hold their meeting, the two Hunters were swiftly taking bets that Cayde had finally played a trick on the wrong Titan to warrant meeting here. With the Exo Stranger coming along, the group of 4 opted to play along, the fast-sliding automatic metal door opening to reveal an Exo Hunter, but not Cayde. Sterile white in color, the room had little lines of red traced through it to symbolize the age-old white and red/medical aid symbolism. One of the Tower's more advanced areas, Hunters were usually associated more with the medical field than the other two classes not only for their adeptness at mocking up first-aid in the field, but also because much of the medical technology in use by the Tower today is reverse-engineered from med-tech retrieved by Hunters over the years. Of course, it was much less impressive to say those fancy wall-mounted monitors, automated medical manipulator arms, and analysis stations in the Med-Wing are there because of you, so most Hunters passed it off in favor of more offensive, deadlier discoveries like old artillery.

"Komo? Did Cayde call you in here too?" Alvara asked in confusion, recognizing the black-and-purple-clad Hunter in a moment. Not wearing her Bog Wild helmet, the Exo Hunter's black chassis with a dark-purple forehead-plate and purple optics showed a consistent theme between attire and wearer as Komo fastened the straps on some unusual gauntlets. Having clawed fingers to them, the silver-plated Sealed Ahamkara Grasps were given a small unique twist, as while the left arm was normal, the right was missing the bodysuit underneath. Instead having her right shoulder and arm exposed, Komo opted to simply strap the Ahamkara bones right on, even the entire clawed glove-region.

"Uh…..no….he didn't. I came in just to get a final diagnostics check to ensure my arm's working again after that cultist Sibuna ripped it off. I was fine with losing my reactor, but my arm? Any less than two arms and I'm out of business as a Hunter. An effective one, at least." Komo-49 explained, going through basic open/close motions and wrist rotations with her right hand to test its field of movement. Not initially intending to say more on it, Komo would end up giving a followup statement anyway as, true to form, Merikh wanted to know more about it.

"A…..reactor? Like, a fusion reactor? _On _you?" Merikh asked, seeming somewhat unnerved by the information. Not knowing too much about Exos, it was new info to him.

"All Exos run on a miniature, compact nuclear fusion reactor stored in their stomach. Or, at least, most do. When I died and came back as a Guardian, I found my Light was doing a perfectly fine job of keeping me running, so I took the thing out and disposed of it. It's probably still out there…and probably still has some juice in it. I…..actually _**really**_hope a wild animal doesn't break it and flatten a small country." Komo answered, realizing that, technically, she left a small atomic explosive device just laying out in the wild. Oddly calm in contemplating what she said, Komo didn't notice as Alvara pulled Merikh off to the side, feeling like she needed to explain a few things.

"Don't mind her, Komo's just a little….well, scatter-brained isn't quite the right term. More I think her capability to take a situation 100-percent seriously was damaged a bit during all her mind-wipes. She knows grave circumstances when she sees them, she just can't really articulate that very well. To everyone else it still looks like she's flippant and treating it all like a game, so just….keep that in mind." Alvara explained, knowing full-well that Komo's aloof realization about her reactor's destructive potential wasn't instilling any feelings of safety in Merikh. Not sure how to reply, Merikh didn't need to as the man of the hour arrived, Cayde walking in with open arms and his trademark attitude.

"He-hey, everybody's here! I know, it was kind of a dick move to get executive access to your scheduled appointments so I could line up this little meeting, but trust me, it's all for the better." Cayde apologized, only incriminating himself as Komo glared at him with a distinct expression of 'You did _what?!_'. Not getting to act on it, Komo had to simply play the audience role along with everyone else as Cayde made a quick followup. "Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not going to divulge some of those…_other _appointments you got on there, private information and all. But, about Oryx: This is a two-part plan, and who better to ask for help than two of the Fireteams whose people helped kill Crota, am I right?"

"I'd advise you get to telling me what's _so_ critical about this plan that you scheduled the meeting _here._" Komo almost threatened, dragging her now-clawed left hand on the metal table to dig a row of slight, but definitely noticeable ridges into it. Slightly leaning back as his hands closed up close to his chest, as if to express 'Oh, dear', Cayde swiftly got to the point.

"Well, since this Skolas guy is still a problem, it's more like a Skolas/Oryx solution. The Vanguard caught sighting of some Wolf ships heading towards Germany, just like that Fallen Variks predicted, so some of you are going to head for Germany and stop him. Meanwhile, I've got a stash out in the Cosmodrome with some goodies that we can use to get a Guardian onto the Dreadnaught. Back before joining the Vanguard, I stole some cloaking tech from Rasputin and stashed it up in a derelict Colony Ship there, so unless the Devils found it, it should still be there. The Hive may have magic, but even they get duped by a Bladedancer's cloaking, so what's the difference between that and a cloaked ship?" Cayde explained, sounding confident in his plan.

"The Vanguard sanctioned putting a Guardian on the Dreadnaught? After what happened to the Awoken, I'd imagine Zavala would be adamantly opposed to it." Caldwell reasoned, catching a gap in Cayde's plan. Slightly leaning on one foot and clasping his hands together, Cayde gestured with both his pointer fingers pressed against each other at Caldwell, figuring out the best way to say this.

"Right…to use a little bit of that military lingo the Titans love, this operation is off the books. Neither Zavala nor Ikora know about it, and they _won't_ know about it until we break that fancy Saturn-carving WMD and establish a beachhead on the Dreadnaught. At that point, they won't even be angry!…or they will, but at least it'll be worth it." Cayde clarified, not looking to linger on those negative details for long. Still worried that Komo was going to rip his horn off and savagely shank him with it, Cayde understandably took a few steps back as they continued to develop this plan. "So, Merikh told me you've got some…extra people with you. People of the four-armed or mechanical, walking calculator variety. Think they'd be of any use here? Don't worry, none of you are in trouble for it…..if I get to meet them eventually."

"_Yeah, we do_….I figure me, Komo and Kyra can go look for Cayde's stash while the rest of Komodo goes to Germany? If we've got to be hopping around inside a derelict Colony Ship like it's a parkour course, the less weight we're pressing on that thing, the better. Besides, the House of Iron will probably put up more resistance than the Devils." Alvara suggested, her opening words before the pause sounding like she was going to slug Merikh in the stomach for divulging that info. Merikh moving to join Cayde, now both of the gambling Hunters seemed to have something to fear from the two female Hunters, Caldwell and the Stranger just awkwardly caught in the middle of this silent standoff.

"Sivala and Airada can probably go with to Germany, that way you get a little extra manpower to compensate for two members being gone. So, after we get this cloaking tech and stop Skolas in Germany, what next? We just strap it on a couple ships and fly at the Dreadnaught?" Komo asked, simmering down a bit. Regardless, Cayde still didn't trust it.

"Well, there'll only be enough tech for one ship to go on account of a ship being a _lot _bigger than one Hunter. That and we'll need a special ship, one that smells like Hive, and we don't have the time to go throw Hive dust residue at each other on top of a ship like it's the beach. So, to compensate, Eris Morn's going to let us use her ship. We get the tech, Amanda rigs it up, and we fly two Guardians into the Dreadnaught. Easiest stealth-op you'll ever do." Cayde assured, resisting to admit 'Or the last one you'll ever do'. Everyone knowing what he was going to say anyway, it didn't instill any confidence whatsoever.

"And by 'let us use', you mean you're going to rush back up to the top Tower floor and beg her adamantly to let us use her ship without even telling her specifically the reason why, nor the fact that it could very well be obliterated if this mission goes even _slightly_ below the planned scenario?" Merikh guessed, having known Cayde long enough to read the Exo like an open book. Not about to deny it, Cayde deflected the point.

"Yeah, but that's _my_ job._You _all have a galaxy to save, so…..let's get moving. Radio in if you have any problems, you all know my personal channel after all." Cayde concluded, sounding like he was in a bit of a rush to exit. Hurrying out the door, the remaining Guardians lingered for a moment, thinking about the hair-brained, crazy plan they've been roped into. True to form, when curiosity struck, Merikh broke the silence with a completely different point.

"So….private appointments, huh? Any…..'modifications' you get done, or is it just diagnostics checks?" Merikh inquired, looking over to Komo. Seeming somewhat annoyed, she humored him nonetheless.

"Yeah, you can get all sorts of chassis modifications and upgrades. Some are for combat, some are for…other reasons." Komo tried to gently explain, not divulging the fine details. Relaxing a bit, Merikh attempted to make a joke, not realizing it'd turn out to be true.

"So…what, like you can get a….._tongue_….hm. _Didn't expect that._" Merikh started to joke, pausing when a silver sliver poked out through Komo's mouth, which was quite literally the Exo sticking her tongue out at him. Able to cut it and leave there, Merikh got in over his head, making a joke he'd soon regret. "So….is that just to make you feel more human, or did you get that for Airada's sake?"

Her expression going far more into a hard-eyed glare, Komo wasn't impressed in the slightest as she advanced, giving the taller Hunter a single, well-placed right hook to the side of his helmet. Seeing an opportunity to follow up on earlier, Alvara joined in, ramming a right uppercut into his stomach as she intended earlier. Walking slightly crooked, Merikh was nonetheless still conscious and coherent.

"Alright….yeah, had that one comin'." Merikh admitted, not about to try and play a false victim. With the speedy beatdown over, Caldwell decided he'd rather not vocally object lest he find himself on the business end of a fist too, instead opting to silently grab Merikh's wrist and pull him out the door to safety. The Exo Stranger going with, Alvara and Komo stayed behind to figure out their side of this two-point plan.

_Hours later, near the border of House of Iron territory, Munich, Germany…_

Having quite the roster tossup compared to usual, Kyra and Alvara had been temporarily filled-in by Sivala and Airada, Barrett was away helping drive out a detected Taken Coven in Russia, and to replace him, the Sun Kell Raylik had gotten the Fireteam in touch with Killian, the Drifter once again. Hitching a ride with Merikh, the red-armored Fallen was not only here to keep the headcount up, but also to serve as a guide due to his previous affiliation with the House of Iron. Knowing the Iron Fallen would either detect their Jumpships on sensors or see the ships directly pass overhead, the Fireteam opted to land on the roof of a large, ornate building. Seeming like a campus-type area with a paved clearing surrounded by 3 floors of rooms, almost like a defensive wall, the trees and other shrubbery planted in the middle courtyard had started to take over, causing vines and other overgrowth to slowly envelop the walls and floor. Most of them not having any idea where to go or what to look for, they simply watched as Killian moved to the roof's edge, looking for something.

"Strange…..no Wolf Ketch in the sky. Skolas is probably trying to play it smart and avoid us. Either that, or he knows the House of Iron would take a big Ketch fleet as a sign of invasion rather than diplomacy. Not to mention, with the Cabal around, a Ketch trying to stick around while the boss plays diplomat just _screams _'shoot me down'." Killian figured, looking for a more subtle sign like a Wolf Skiff attempting to fly under the radar. Spotting some flying around a fair distance away, Killian didn't like the time estimate a trek on foot would give. "They're here all right, but if I had to guess, walking from here to there is probably a 2-hour trek with all the weaving between buildings we'd be doing, not to mention any resistance we meet slowing it down further. Getting your ships again and flying over would be bad too since I'd imagine Skolas learned his lesson since Africa, so we'd be dropping right into a trap. Any suggestions?"

"We're right on the border of the Iron's territory with the Cabal, and if Skolas is as vain and air-headed as it sounds like he is, we just need to see if the Cabal are launching an attack on Iron territory. We hop in the middle of it, and Skolas could very well come to _us _looking to prove himself. That and I'm sure if he hears that the group includes me, you, and a golden Vex, all of which were present when Raylik sent him scampering, he'll want revenge. We could lure him in blind and stupid for our own ambush." Riksis figured, knowing from his own experience with the Ice Reapers, an arctic Cabal Division, that the Cabal are persistent if anything. Nobody arguing with the plan, now it just took looking for a fight in progress, and finding a way down. Hearing some faint gunfire not too far away, the distinct bang of half the shots showed the Cabal were most certainly in the area.

"Before we go…..any tips on the House of Iron? The City didn't really have too much on them besides the name." Airada asked, having a dual purpose to it. Half of her reasoning was for the sake of survival, the other half was to see if there was anything about them that the Exo Warlock Phoenix-7 would be interested in.

"They love augmentation, even the Dregs get prosthetic limbs. That and they have an excessive use of Shanks and Shiv hounds, and they like to take old human guns and modify them. They're not alarmingly more powerful than your own guns, but just as a forewarning, don't underestimate them. They can still kill you just as easily as you can kill them." Killian warned, his Winchester/Wire Rifle lever-action hybrid being proof of that last point. Needing a way down, the Exo Stranger moved to try and budge a metal door leading into a stairwell down, but no luck. Giving it a hard punch to try and break the locking system, that failed too, only causing a sizable dent in the edge of the door. Visibly annoyed, but silent, the Exo Stranger got a silent pat on the shoulder from Riksis to get her attention.

"Allow _me_." Riksis offered, the Exo Stranger stepping off to the side as Riksis ran at the door, giving it a straight-kick with his right foot that dislodged the door entirely. Careening down the stairs and sliding out the building through the blown-out far wall, the loud slam as the door crushed the top of an abandoned car was almost cringe-worthy against the otherwise silent mood of the building. Admittedly not expecting that, Riksis tried to play it off as nothing as he sought a different way down for himself. "I won't fit through the door, so all of you take that down. I've got my own way out."

Placing his upper left hand on the floor, Riksis moved down to a position where he was almost laying on his left hip before swinging his legs forward, going over the edge of the roof before landing on his feet in the courtyard below. Hoping the stairs were solid enough to not give way underneath them, the rest of the group descended the stairs with Killian in front. The Fallen mercenary proceeding with both modified Shock Pistols drawn, the more powerful, exposed Shock Core in each one gave off a slight blue hue to the dark interior as they reached the second floor. The stairwell down to the ground floor being blocked up with an incredible amount of junk, possibly some kind of frenetic barricade by previous occupants, the group had no choice but to move onto the second floor in search of another way down. Still with Killian in front, things got more alarming as Riksis heard growling on his floor, followed by a savage Shiv hound leaping out of the darkness at him.

The sharp-toothed, barrel-chested, multi-eyed Fallen-esque hound latching onto Riksis' upper right forearm, the ex-Archon had a surprisingly poignant response, quickly jerking the arm to the left with enough force to make the Shiv lose its grip. His height meaning the Shiv was at a fairly high altitude by latching onto the upper arm, the Archon flinging the Shiv loose sent it careening onto the second floor, back-first through a long, rectangular window. None of the Guardians having seen Shivs very often, to Killian it was another familiar target as he kicked open the flimsy, wooden door leading into the lab where the Shiv had landed. Looking to kill it before it could run off and ambush again, the glow of Killian's pistols and eyes got the Shiv's attention as it rolled back onto its average-sized, bulky legs.

Running and leaping at him much like it did at Riksis, Killian was more prepared, arms outstretched as the Fallen merc quite literally tackled the leaping hound. Taking it to the floor, Killian re-oriented himself while keeping weight pressed on the Shiv, silencing it with a round to the side of its head. Getting back up, Killian was about to give an explanation about how the best anti-Shiv tactic is to surprise them by being just as bold and gung-ho as them, but the opportunity was taken away. More Shivs residing in the building, another had snuck up behind the rest of the group, scampering right towards Sivala and jumping her from behind. Digging its back feet into her belt, the Shiv clamped its razor-toothed mouth around her helmet while setting its front legs on her shoulders, attempting to crush or pull the Titan's head off.

Finding the Plasteel plating to be like a jawbreaker, the Shiv got its namesake turned on it as Merikh of all people was the first to respond, drawing his knife in his free hand before lodging it in the Shiv's side. Not realizing how much pure muscle was in a Shiv's midsection, Merikh tried vainly in hopes that it would cause fatal damage as the Shiv persisted. Attempting to be her own savior, Sivala reached behind her in hopes of grabbing something on the Shiv and pulling it off, not realizing that she grabbed Merikh's left wrist. Still holding his knife, Merikh was effectively jerked through the decorative, but decayed and brittle wooden railing next to them, his instinctual reaction to wrap his right arm around the Shiv combined with the Shiv's refusal to let go of Sivala meaning both Guardians and the Shiv all went for a tumble. Finally letting go, the Shiv landed between the two Guardians before getting savagely terminated as Merikh fired a round through its ribs while Sivala used her free hand to crack its skull with a downward punch.

"I'll admit, for a moment there I wasn't sure if that was a razor-toothed Fallen hound or you that jumped on me. At least, until it tried biting my head off." Sivala joked, severely confusing Merikh by saying it with a tone that sounded friendly and almost flirtatious rather than snide and sarcastic. Trying to think of a response, another Shiv broke the ice for him, darting out of the shadows and pouncing on the Hunter. Trying the same head-biting tactic as the last one, Merikh's moronic move to bring his left forearm up resulted in that getting bit instead. The Shiv practically laying atop his Ace of Spades-wielding right hand, and his left arm currently being Shiv-chow, Merikh tried in vain to shove the Shiv off before a loud bang rang out, the Shiv going limp. Looking back at Sivala, she evidently still had that Chaperone shotgun from their fight against Crota, the smoking barrel-end pointed right at the side of the dead Shiv's head. Working the shotgun's lever, Sivala got up before lightly nudging the Shiv off Merikh with her foot, helping him up after.

"Call it even then? I helped you with Crota, you saved me from a rabid attack dog?" Merikh offered, trying to conveniently avoid Sivala's last statement. The rest of the group deciding to just tough out the fall and dropping from the broken-in gap where Merikh and Sivala fell, things were much easier from here, a fairly wide and obvious way out just off to the side thanks to the campus design. Still following Killian, the group soon had to disperse for cover as Carwyn's shields nearly dropped thanks to a loud bang from a nearby roof. Ducking for cover behind a myriad of messily-crowded cars in the road in front of them, Riksis and Midas had to run for cover against the corner of a nearby building, their statures making cover behind a car pointless. Looking around for the culprit, Caldwell saw a faint reflective glint on a roof before jerking his head back down, said head almost being taken off by another round.

"It's the Iron….if there's a sniper here, it's a scavenging party, so more are bound to be close. If you see any red-armored Fallen, shoot them. They're not friends of mine." Killian explained, pulling out his lever-action before trying to spot the sniper. Catching sight of him, Killian tried to speedily put a round in the red and gold Vandal's brain, only to half-miss and hit the Vandal's hip instead. Temporarily out of commission, the sniper could be heard yelling something just as more red Fallen with golden accents to their armor came in. Led by a Captain, the crew was backed up by six Vandals and ten Dregs, none of which were perfectly normal. The Captain being heavily augmented with four cybernetic arms, both legs augmented from the knee down, and an off-colored glowing eye indicative of an implant, it was obvious that the severity of the augmentation went up with rank. The Vandals having less extensive augs, it was still noticeable, having either both upper, both lower, or both right or left arms augmented, and in some cases an augmented leg from the knee down, as well as the same eye implant. The Dregs only having measly single-arm or both-arm augmentations, as well as the single eye implant, it didn't seem to decrease their fervor compared to other House Dregs.

Four of the Vandals wielding Shock Rifles, the other two had modified HK417 rifles, the stock completely replaced with a Shock Rifle-style one. The same spiky, black, vented barrel design encompassing everything in front of the receiver, the Shock Core seemed to be encased in the stock judging by the trio of cables both rifles had running from the left side of the stock to the receiver. Still using human mags and ammunition, the rifles behaved differently nonetheless, every round zipping out with a blue glow behind it, as well as a more electrical firing sound. Most of the Dregs wielding their normal Shock Pistols or Shrapnel Launchers, one brought another special trick to the party with a vented, modified SPAS-12, the stock being thin metal meaning it had a Shock Core affixed to the left side of the gun rather than being hidden in something. Not quite recognizing the Captain's gun at first, what it did was nonetheless made _very _obvious as he opened fire, blasting a rapid-fire hail of glowing blue buckshot in their direction.

"An automatic shotgun firing more than flaming junk…is this _normal_ for the Fallen since I was last around?" Niro asked, never having recalled any kind of automatic shotgun fielded by the Fallen that fired _real _ammo, just the random junk metal that the Shrapnel Launcher flung out. Being exactly that, the Captain's gun was a modified Pancor Jackhammer, the entire outer casing of the gun getting a curved, Fallen-style redesign with vents and pointed spikes present along the barrel. Containing the Shock Core in the stock much like the HK417 rifles, the Captain's shotgun was custom-painted a dark red with white Fallen symbols on it, almost as if to further make his gun more special than that of anyone in his crew. Midas poking out to try and eviscerate the Captain with his plasma-shotgun, the Captain seemed to have a sixth sense, already ducking into cover before Midas could even hone in on him. Only a few of the Vandals having been looking in Midas' direction, the implications instilled a sharp sense of loathing in Killian.

"_Great_…..they're linked. Those eye augs means they all see what everyone else sees, so we aren't getting a drop on _any_ of them without getting a drop on _all _of them. Better to just scrap the fodder and attack the Captain all at once." Killian explained, proving that all-seeing sight didn't mean superhuman reflexes against _everything _as he landed a round with his Winchester on a Dreg, blowing the Dreg's brains out like any other House Dreg. Airada hurling a Storm Grenade over, the Iron Fallen evidently hadn't met many Stormcallers as the air around them darkened, merely looking around in confusion before the high-intensity lightning bolts sent a Vandal and three Dregs flying in comedic midair cartwheels. The Vandal sniper getting back on his feet, he got as far as bouncing a round off Sivala's shoulder as her shields took the damage before Killian took another shot at him, railing the Vandal through his metallic, augment-laced abdomen. Evidently hitting something critical, the Vandal limply tipped over the edge of the roof, ending the crew's high-ground advantage.

Using his own high-ground advantage, Niro made a seemingly foolish leap at the enemy, gliding up amidst all the gunfire as the remaining members of the Iron crew turned to fire. Anticipating where he'd be, the Fallen overshot as Niro stuck in place, a pair of glowing white, boney wings seemingly made of energy erupting from his back as he stuck in place in the air. Getting a good shot on some of the Vandals, Niro capped off his surprise move with a Fusion Grenade tossed into their ranks, killing off most of what remained except the Captain. Not happy in the slightest, the Captain leapt for Niro as the decayed Warlock dropped to the ground, Niro letting himself fall over on landing to dodge the Captain's gun-butt swing. Skittering backwards a bit, Niro tried to hurry to his feet while keeping eyes on the Captain, getting a free moment when Killian moved in. Not wanting to open fire for fear of hitting Killian, the rest of the Fireteam let Killian deal with it for the moment.

Having put away his pistols and rifle, Killian came at the Captain with one Shock Bowie Knife drawn, dragging a gash into the Captain's chestplate before the Captain, dropping his shotgun, got hold of Killian's arm. Retaliating in kind, the two Fallen were deadlocked with Killian holding the Captain's lower arms while the Captain held his upper arms. Letting go of the Captain's lower arms, Killian instead wrapped his lower arms around the Captain's midsection before pulling all his weight backwards, using his enhanced strength to haul the Captain off his feet into a suplex-slam. Popping the Captain's shields, Killian stayed in a low crouch as the Captain rushed back to his feet, his fervor getting him multiple rounds in the back as the Guardians of the Fireteam had a clear line of fire. The Guardians considering him dead, Killian opted to make sure as he rose to his feet, Shock Bowie Knife pointing upwards as he slammed it up through the Captain's chin. Locking up, there was hardly a moment's silence after the Captain fell.

"And _what _do you intend to do with that, exactly?" Sivala asked as her absurdly taller, youngest sister Airada wasted no time closing the distance on the dead Captain, putting Juju on her back for a moment to pick up the dead Captain's Jackhammer shotgun. Holding it properly in her hands, Airada lightly bounced the gun up and down in her hands before letting her Ghost trans-mat it into her inventory.

"Taking it for a friend who might be interested. Don't worry, nothing bad'll come of it." Airada assured, the rest of the Fireteam hesitantly trusting her.

"Right…..back on track, the Cabal incursion should be just a small walk off to the left, through that wrecked building. Get to the other side, and they should be right there." Caldwell's Ghost informed, having been trying to cross-reference whatever semi-useful map data he had on Germany with radial scans he was taking to figure out the Cabal's location. Looking in the direction Caldwell's Ghost was referring to, it was a tall, similarly ornate and old-style building with a massive hole blown in the side of it. The excessive amounts of debris stacked up almost creating a ramp of sorts onto the second floor, the inclusion of flat, out-of-place metal boards on top of the rubble indicated the House of Iron probably schlepped all that rubble together on purpose to make traversal into the building easier. Seeing no real alternate path for Riksis, the ex-Archon sighed as he knew what he had to do, gesturing for the others to go first.

Ascending the ramp, the Fireteam found the dark, dry building to be relatively calm save for the smashed glass, wrecked tables, and destroyed picture frames among other detritus littering the floor. Riksis not being so fortunate, the giant Fallen was forced into a tight squat, having to awkwardly cram his horned helmet and broad back inside the halls as he slowly crawled behind the other members of the team. Thankfully being a relatively straight shot to the far wall, a giant complication hit the massive Fallen as they came to a door just short of the far wall, which Riksis couldn't even get his head through due to the horns on his helmet. Trying to force it into cracking open, Riksis found no luck without knocking the whole wall down as he fell into a forward laying position, sighing heavily in frustration.

"Oh come on Riksis, you've been with Kyra for years, and yet you're _surprised _that you don't fit?" Merikh joked, jerking backwards as the Archon thrusted one arm through the open doorway to try and jab the Hunter in the shin. Missing, the Archon was not amused regardless as he could hear Killian's low, garbled, distinctly Fallen-like laughter at the joke, wishing he had enough room to emit a seismic stomp and blast this doorway in. Hearing the gunfire at a much louder volume, the Fireteam was alerted as an ear-shattering bang erupted off to the right along the row of windows that made up the far wall, a Cabal Ballista having been waiting for a shot without them noticing. Not seeing the Fireteam, the Ballista was focused on the engagement with the House of Iron going on outside, his in-built helmet optics probably obscuring his peripheral vision. Raising his upper left hand up with an open palm in a 'wait' gesture, Killian slowly crept up on the Ballista, holding his Winchester rifle by the barrel in his lower right hand. Getting next to the Ballista, Killian tapped the Cabal Hybrid on his left shoulder, getting the jumbo-Psion-looking Cabal's attention.

Emitting a comedically 'eh?'-like noise as he jerked his head left, the Ballista was sent for a tumble as Killian grabbed the barrel of the Ballista's rifle with his left hands, the upper right hand bracing on the Ballista's back to shove him in a forward tumble out the empty window. Yelping as he lost his grip on his gun, the Ballista was taken out soon after as Killian dropped the heavy sniper, properly gripping his Winchester to shoot the downed Ballista in the head.

"Well, he's got a sense of humor, I'll give him that…" Carwyn admitted, foreseeing a bright future between Killian and Merikh as the group turned their attention on the fighting ahead of them. Not too terribly big of a patrol, the situation was actually inverted from what they expected, the House of Iron sitting out on the road while the Cabal held down the building across from the Fireteam. Looking like another warehouse, the House of Iron banners hanging off the building's exterior indicated that the Cabal had actually enacted an aggressive takeover of Iron resources, and the Iron were trying to take their turf back. Not having too much success, the Iron got a bit of an easier time thanks to the Ballista being gone. Taking a closer look at the crew trying to take the place back, Carwyn spotted a Baron among them, specifically one with an incredibly unique melee weapon of choice.

Having the same red armor with golden accents as any other Iron Fallen, he had all four arms augmented as far as they could go, including the shoulders, with the typical Captain shoulder-piece mirrored on both sides as part of the actual aug. Having the normal Captain/Baron chest piece, it was interlaced with more augmentations in tandem with a fully synthetic body from the abdomen down. The grey, smooth, spiked abdomen and back being completely uncovered, the Baron had the typical Baron/Captain armor pieces built into his mechanical legs, giving his body a more fully rounded, smoothed, Fallen-weapon-style look to it. One of the few unedited things about him being his Archon Priest-style helmet, the Baron's attire lacked any kind of cape, instead opting for a skirt-like red cloth hanging from his hips that was open in the front, the House of Iron logo placed on the back of it. Wielding a normal Shrapnel Launcher, what caught Carwyn's eye was that the skirt was pulled back past the Baron's thighs, revealing two large, easily over-forearm-sized bladed tonfas clipped to his thighs. The blade looking like the same kind of serrated, grey blade as a Shock Blade, it was connected to a basic, cylindrical handle with a Shock Core serving as the cap-piece on the end.

"Aim for the Cabal first, if we can crack their defensive line and let the Iron get in, we can follow up and shoot both sides in the back." Caldwell instructed, snapping Carwyn out of his focus on the strange Baron, whose name came up 'Irixi, Iron Baron'. Considering at as good a plan as any other, the Fireteam, save for Riksis, began picking shots as best they could at the Cabal holed up in the warehouse. Not having any Ballistas in the warehouse, it was difficult for the Cabal to return-fire amidst the Iron attack, the desert-tan Bone Crushers Legionaries doing their best while the two Centurions prioritized the Iron attackers. All armed with Slug Rifles, it reeked of desperation as Merikh swapped to his sniper rifle, noticing as he zoomed in that there were stacks of crates inside the warehouse storing guns and ammunition. Not sure what they intended to do with incompatible ammo, Merikh nonetheless figured the Bone Crushers were getting desperate given the lack of powerful artillery in play, not even a single Projection Rifle being fired. Popping a Legionary's helmet, Merikh couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy as the Centurion next to him seemed visibly distraught, grabbing the limp Legionary's arm and pulling him back from the window.

Saving any feelings of remorse he might have for the seemingly-inevitable prospect of meeting allied Cabal, Merikh's next kill was taken from him as Killian took a more mischievous approach, his Winchester round puncturing a Legionary's Slug Rifle mag to detonate the ammo inside. The micro-rockets in the ammo blasting the gun apart due to premature detonation, the Legionary was stunned and confused as he backed off, looking at his wrecked gun before Carwyn's Pulse Rifle ripped his helmet off. Hardly a good demonstration of real Cabal power, the squad holding down the warehouse was waning more and more as Irixi's crew moved in, finally able to reach the front doors and breach the location. Taking that as their cue to move, it was right on time as Riksis finally gave up on half-measure solutions, putting all his strength into a forward slam to break apart the weathered, decayed concrete doorframe. Not stopping, Riksis similarly shoulder-slammed the windowsills in front of him open, flopping off the side of the building and onto the ground floor. Feeling like he landed right on something sensitive, Riksis took a moment to catch his breath.

Conveniently looking like he was dead, this accidental disguise spared Riksis from an unexpected assault as the rest of the Fireteam took cover, Skolas having taken the bait. Needing to be trans-matted out of the back of the inbound Wolf Skiff, the so-called Kell of Kells was followed up by a second Skiff containing more Iron Fallen, some Wolves, and an Iron Baroness.

Having the same four-arm augmentation as Irixi, this Baroness, Helsis, had a less extensive lower-body modification job, only having her legs from the knees down replaced. Wearing the same average Captain-looking helmet as Killian, it even had the same custom respirator that he used. Having a hard, rigid chestplate that slanted downwards and outwards slightly, almost like something you'd expect from Titan armor, the heavily-armored Baroness was quite obviously all about getting attention. Specifically, underneath her traditional House cape was a back-mounted ammo box fixed to her chest-plate, which was linked by a minigun-style belt-sheathe into a heavily modified PKM machine gun. Possessing all the typical mods they expected of the House of Iron, from the modified and vented barrel to the Shock Cores in the stock, what made this one scarier was the prospect that, with the belt-sheathe, this MG could keep firing nonstop until there were no more bullets to be fired. Even having some spare barrels for the gun strapped to her left thigh, the Baroness seemed to whole-heartedly have that strategy in mind.

Looking like she was leading her own crew alongside Skolas, Helsis was most likely the one Skolas attempted to broker a deal with, only to jump here as a demonstration of his so-called power. Wrenching one of the large garage-doors along the warehouse's front wall open, Skolas was immediately hit with a hail of Slug Rifle fire, but hardly seemed to care as he returned fire with his Shrapnel Launcher. Disappearing inside the warehouse along with Helsis, the Fireteam took this as a sign to get moving, Riksis also getting up as they followed the entry-point Skolas had made. Finding the inside to be a total mess, the warehouse's contents being organized for Fallen traversal rather than Cabal traversal meant the bigger-bodied and wider Cabal were constantly bumping the building's stock, sending stacks of crates and entire shelves tumbling over without even trying. The more nimble Decurios having an easier time of it, these shotgun-wielding Hybrid Cabal were having the most success as they used their HE shotguns and ceremonial daggers to ambush, blast apart, and fatally stab the 'trash' Dregs and Vandals on the Fallen side of the fight.

One such Decurio trying to surprise Midas, the nimble Hybrid swung a high-kick to try and sever something critical in Midas' abdomen, only to get her leg caught by his left hand. Slamming his right elbow down on the side of the Decurio's knee, it nearly bent the Decurio's shin 90 degrees left, the Decurio thankfully not suffering long as Midas gave a followup headshot with his plasma-shotgun. Spreading out and trying to avoid gaining Skolas' attention too quickly, the Fireteam openly engaged both sides, Sivala actually getting quite the multi kill as she tossed a Lightning Grenade at a trio of Vandals attempting to stab a Legionary to death. Not having much success with their coordinated attack due to the Legionary's armor and heavy thrashing, all of them were taken out when her grenade shot a column of lightning into a tipped-over crate of Shock Cores. Igniting the power sources, each one detonating catapulted the rest away as the box was disintegrated, sending little blue bombs zipping in every-which direction to cause a surprising amount of damage.

Most of the remaining Legionaries and the two remaining Centurions trying to play as defensive as possible, the grated flooring separating the first and second floors had forced them to move to the ground floor in order to have any cover, mostly occupying the back of the room as the Wolves and Iron Fallen approached. Putting up an admirable fight, they actually exhibited a little bit of creativity as a trio of Dregs that Carwyn hoped to get the jump on were taken out by a gung-ho Legionary, the large Cabal one-handing his Slug Rifle in one hand and holding up the lid of one of the many crates in the warehouse as a makeshift face-shield with his other hand. Killing two of the Dregs with gunfire, the Legionary arguably gave the more painful death to the third one, backhanding the small Fallen off his feet with the makeshift shield. Roaring in a typical Cabal manner, the Legionary's pride was cut short as Skolas got to him, kicking the Legionary hard enough to burst the Cabal footsoldier's helmet-seals.

Wondering when the Cabal were possibly going to retreat, Caldwell was reminded of what Ikora said once: 'Six words for advance, none for retreat' as the last of the Cabal openly charged the Fallen, both Centurions getting taken out in their bid to rush down Skolas as he emitted a seismic stomp, knocking most of the shelves around right over as both large Cabal went for a tumble. Probably dying with honor in their own eyes, things were about to get sad for Skolas too as Helsis finally noticed Killian among the Fireteam, pausing for a moment. Not being shot purely because of how strange her decision to freeze up was, it became apparent that the two had some history together as Killian didn't open fire either, Helsis soon ruining Skolas' chances of success. Saying something in her native tongue, the excessive gunfire prevented it from being translated, but the point was nonetheless clear as Helsis argued with Irixi for a moment, followed by the Baron and Baroness looking at Skolas in contemplation. Seemingly agreeing, both started saying the same thing as they backed up, the remaining Iron Fallen falling back as all red-clad Fallen present decided to exit the building.

Dumbfounded, Skolas yelled for his Wolves to give chase, feeling he could take the Guardians on his own. Not wanting any Wolves to be free in Germany, most of the Fireteam gave chase after the Wolves while Riksis and Airada kept their attention on Skolas.

"Those god-damn…hey, big guy? If we survive this, we're beating the shit out of my sister and the others for leaving us with Skolas, right?" Airada asked, admittedly somewhat nervous as Skolas focused on Riksis, an impulsive desire for revenge and his out-of-control rage that Variks mentioned keeping him from doing the obvious thing, AKA just shooting the ex-Archon.

"Most-definitely. But, for now, I need to remind a _Dreg _of where he sits on the ladder." Riksis answered, putting his Shrapnel Launcher on his back. Casting his own Shrapnel Launcher aside, Skolas wanted to pull the ex-Archon apart as he ran forward with his left shoulder pointing out, trying to shoulder-charge Riksis right over. Taking a wide stance, Riksis exerted much more discipline by comparison, straightening out as he wrapped his arms around Skolas' abdomen. Lifting the Kell slightly off his feet, gravity did the rest as Skolas and Riksis went down, Skolas' back-mounted boney horns doing little to keep his lower back from uncomfortably cracking on impact. Now mounted on the Kell, Riksis grabbed Skolas' helmet-connected rebreather cables in his upper right hand, ripping them off just as Airada came in with a failed attempt at helping. Sending a blast of lightning into Skolas' head, Riksis' close proximity meant both their heads were zapped, disorienting them both. "Aghp…is _that _your idea of helping?!"

"Well what the hell do you _expect _me to do?! Flash my tits at him and hope he cares?!" Airada yelled back, spurred by the heat of the moment as Skolas was able to force up to a sitting position, pushing Riksis off him.

"I…_what?!_" Riksis exclaimed in return, not even knowing what Airada said or meant as he tried to regain his composure and sense of direction. The whole fight beginning to turn into a comedy of errors, Riksis' empty-headed retaliation was actually the best possible as he haphazardly threw a straight-punch from his kneeling state at a now-standing Skolas, decking the Kell between the legs. Stumbling backwards, Skolas tried to get his balance on a shelf, only to completely pull it over and send a massive collection of crates crashing on top of him. Writhing under the stack of metal boxes, the Kell tried to slowly flip himself onto his front, getting to his hands and knees before a now-standing Riksis rushed him down, grabbing the Kell's horned back-ornament with all four hands. Pulling the Kell back, Riksis pulled Skolas' head into a rising knee, putting Skolas right back at Square 1 in a face-down position. Groaning in pain, Skolas slowly tried to schlep away, his upper right hand doing most of the work as he crawled a short distance away. Her left hand coursing with electricity, Airada was ready to give a monster-charged fist through the back of Skolas' skull when the Kell vanished, the tell-tale off-blue flash indicating a trans-mat as they heard a Skiff picking up speed, only to see the distinctive Wolf-Skiff swiftly flying away through the warehouse's windows. Silently contemplating their technical loss, it was always after the storm had passed that people regretted the heat of the moment.

"So…..what was that something-flashing you were talking about?" Riksis asked, admittedly curious. Her heavily 'God…dammit' expression being hidden by her helmet, Airada's sagged shoulders hardly explained how she felt as even her own gun gave its two cents.

_Are you going to show him, or should we get him access to the City's Public Infonetwork? _Juju rumbled from its position in her right hand, only transmitting the thought to her as the electricity crackling through her left hand fizzled out.

_Later, amidst the collections of Fallen-made houses under the Sun-Ketch Dreviks-Fel, Africa….._

The majority of the group having succeeded in exterminating the Wolves that fled Riksis' fight with Skolas, the entire Fireteam, now rejoined with Barrett, Kyra, Komo and Alvara, were staying the night in the House of the Sun's city per Raylik's offer as a thank-you gesture for helping fight off Skolas. Planning to use it as a good jumping-point for wherever Skolas might appear next, their current attention was put on Killian, whose room high in the smooth-stone-made cityscape they were currently dwelling in. Being made of faded tan stone with metal grafted in for proper windowsills and appliances, the Suns' attention to comfort admittedly surprised the guests, as instead of dank, barely-livable dwellings, the borderline-apartment was heated, lined with an insulation-capable material inside the walls, and possessed a proper bed woven together by in-House artisans.

Even having a flat outdoor area, it was here that Riksis and Kyra were residing, looking out at the lantern-lit cityscape as Kyra laid on Riksis like he was a giant chair, happy to be back after their earlier separation. The rest of the group inside with Killian, the Fallen merc had made a small attire change, removing his armor above the belt-line. His left pectoral being silver-colored metal in contrast to his dark-grey skin, a pair of plugs on the pectoral were currently plugged into air-tubes linked to a Shank floating around the room, the unarmed drone instead being outfitted with air tanks and a respirator system to help the merc breathe without his helmet and belt-mounted air-tank. Currently sitting on his bed, Killian simply waited for the guests to ooh and awe at his possessions so he could get onto the point of why Helsis ran earlier.

"Damn, quite the collection…you like human stuff?" Airada asked, still in full gear save for her removed helmet as she looked at the shelf over Killian's bed. In addition to his Winchester rifle they'd seen earlier, he also had a pair of sawed-off, stockless double-barrel shotguns, and a full-length double-barrel with the stock still attached. Possessing other random bits of human junk like a Rubiks Cube, Killian's interest seemed to be in the conventional and the old, none of his collected junk being anything that required power of any kind save for an old human-made camera. Evidently functional, the camera was probably used to take the various pictures Killian kept around, a keen-eyed Merikh noting fairly fast that some of these had Killian and Helsis together in them.

"Yeah, human tech's always fascinated me. The things you people were able to achieve without Shock Cores or other forms of electrical power, especially your guns, is quite impressive if you ask me. As for things like that colored cube, that was something Helsis gave me, as a gift…..if I'm going to work with you Guardians further, I feel I need to disclose something now: A Guardian didn't collapse my lung, Helsis did." Killian admitted, actually not seeming proud of his previous story being false. Knowing the question 'why' would come soon, Killian beat them to the punch and gave the why-explanation first. "When I was in the House of Iron, I got close to Helsis…..not too different from Riksis and that Vandal out there. The Kell at the time, before Taniks killed him, didn't like that I wasn't viciously opposed to anything and everything non-Iron, and when my lack of fervor wouldn't go away, he…..asked Helsis to kill me."

"So…she failed? Bad shot?" Merikh asked, admittedly curious.

"No, she knew what she was doing. She led me out here to the Suns and intentionally aimed for the lung with a gun of a low enough caliber that it would damage my lung without completely ruining me. She shot me so her eye implant would register credible footage to pass off as me dying and left me with the Suns because she knew they'd take care of me, which is how I got this here lung-implant taking up half my chest. I never expected to run into her, and I guess the feeling's mutual since she called off her troops to make our life easier. If you end up seeing her again…..don't kill her, please? She'll probably recognize you after what happened today, and if I could get her out here, I'd finally be able to cut every last tie with the Iron." Killian requested, sounding like he had a hard time working out the request in a logical wording.

"I doubt Skolas will be going back into Iron territory any time soon, but if we see her again, we'll keep it in mind…but, I must admit, Skolas is seeming like _quite _the unfortunate soul right now. Two times we run across him, and two times his goals are undermined by someone backstabbing him. Think it'll eventually be the death of him?" The Exo Stranger noted, her smile even making it into her voice as she brought up the observation that not only did Variks betray Skolas at the end of the Reef Wars, then Killian lured Skolas into a bad fight in Africa, and now the House of Iron ditched him at the last second. That bit about Helsis being the main thing he wanted to address, Killian stood up once more, deciding to wait out until the Fireteam left when Merikh approached him as a pull-to-the-side conversation.

"Hey, uh…don't tell Kyra about that size joke I made earlier, alright?" Merikh requested, keeping his voice down to indicate he tried to keep this as discrete as possible. Narrowing his eyes at the Hunter, Killian reminded Merikh that he was looking at a similarly cynical soul here.

"What, don't want to screw up your own shot by lookin' like an ass?" Killian joked, Merikh sadly misunderstanding what Killian meant. Playing damage control, it was played in the wrong direction.

"_What? _No, Kyra's just a bit sensitive with those she doesn't want to shoot is all, I'm not trying to get between her and Riksis." Merikh assured, finding it strange in reflection that, when they first met, he wanted to shoot Kyra, and now it came as second-nature to think of her as just another Guardian on the team despite her lack of Light-power, same with Midas.

"Who said I was talking about Kyra?" Killian clarified, his razor-pin teeth making a devious grin as he subtly poked one finger in a different direction, which Merikh tracked to a sitting Sivala retelling the Shiv-attack from earlier to Alvara. Completely oblivious to the two rogues looking in her direction, that was Merikh's one saving grace in light of what Killian had to say next. "I think it'd work out fine….tall and skinny, short and built, nice dynamic. Just, if you go for it, try not to let her snap you in half _too _quick. The way you're built, I'm surprised the _wind _doesn't split you at the hips if a good enough breeze gets going."

"Well, if anyone ever wondered if 'Cynical Asshole' was an archetype the Fallen had, at least I can tell them it exists." Merikh prodded back, the tone remaining lighthearted regardless as Merikh patted the Fallen on the shoulder. Despite ending on a high note, the lanky Hunter still opted to go outside to join his two Fallen sqaudmates lest Killian rope Sivala into the conversation for some followup jokes at Merikh's expense.

Author's Note

Sorry this took longer than anticipated, didn't get an opportunity to write at all the previous week, and the general majority-of-week schedule's been a bit upturned with some school-related demands, but things are fine now. Speaking of things being fine, hopefully this chapter seems more like a return to normalcy in a sense, since like I said, the whole story isn't trying to be doom-and-gloom-like, hence why I tried to keep the Taken out of this particular chapter entirely. It was partly that, and partly because the next chapter is actually going to be running in parallel with this one: We saw the trip to Germany to stop Skolas, now we see the other end of things with the plan to nab Cayde's stash in the Cosmodrome (Which will heavily use the Taken), so Chapters 15 and 16 are technically happening at the same time. 17'll be back to moving forward, but I just wanted to show all sides here rather than axe out a giant portion of the plot (That and using the goal of ascending a colony ship for a chapter could be pretty fun).

As for the House of Iron, the primary goal beyond tying them to Taniks was to give a different approach to Fallen goals. Whereas the other Houses seem to have their plots for the Traveler (Like the Kings) and the Suns just want to live in peace, the Iron are like an inverse of the Suns: They don't care about the Traveler, but they're incredibly hostile, territorial looters who care more about sacking whatever collection of resources they can find and making something deadly out of it than about the Traveler. They wouldn't care if the Traveler up and left again somehow, they'd still be in Germany upgrading themselves and picking fights with anything that isn't them, regardless of what the other Houses do. In addition, while I didn't want to push it too terribly far, Mad Max was a term that was repeatedly thrown around while we described and thought up the visual distinctions for the House of Iron, because everything they have is secondhand modified and pieced together into a semblance of functionality without looking too professional. Part of that included custom off-road truck-vehicles powered by large Shock Cores that they use to haul large amounts of loot back to their main hideouts, but I kinda leaned off that idea worrying it'd go too far. If it sounds nice, I'll use it in greater detail later.

As for the Cabal, as I know this tease won't be easing anything out, the BIG break for the Cabal is coming soon with the main Suns-like "Friendly" faction that'll really help give an angle for more focus on the Cabal like I've given to the Fallen. It's happening without a doubt, and soon, I just don't want to rush things so it comes out right rather than comes out fast (Gee, where have I heard that dilemma before in this day and age….). Oh, and if anyone's curious, Irixi, who was arguably the best design that came out of group-brainstorming for this chapter, will most definitely appear again. No way I'm letting a design like that be a one-and-done appearance.


	16. Colony Cache

Chapter 16: Colony Cache

_Near the Devil's Lair, Old Russia…_

With the majority of Komodo currently off in Germany to look for Skolas, Alvara and Kyra were being aided by the Hunter Komo-49 in their search for Cayde's secret stash which, if the Devils didn't get it, should be at the top of a colony ship in the Devils' Lair. Currently just outside the factory-like launch facility that the now-dead Sepiks Prime once called home, the newfound Taken threat was already posing an issue here. Being both Kyra and Komo had precision rifles, Kyra's Wire Rifle and Komo's StillPiercer rifle, the trio were able to peacefully observe the battle for the time being. Both marksmen standing on a nearby rooftop with some solar panels, Alvara stayed just a little further back, mostly watching their backs with her Zhalo until they moved up.

"This isn't going to be difficult for you, right? Shooting at Devils and Taken Fallen that probably _were _Devils at one point?" Komo asked, getting over the 'friendly Fallen' hurdle much faster than Merikh did. While she never directly reached out to the Fallen, her Fireteam-mate and otherwise general mate Airada's close friendship with Phoenix-7 meant she got to hear plenty about the Fallen, and the friendlier ones like the Suns, all the same. Not bothered in the slightest by the scenario, Kyra's response made sure her lack of conflicting feelings was well-known.

"Save for some very select few that Nassik probably had killed by now, I'd kill any of the Devils without a slight bit of moral conflict. Some of them being Taken now? All it does is give me a…what's the term? Bullseye?" Kyra assured, making fun of the glowing white dot all Taken had in the middle of their faces. Liking that response, and knowing they'd be engaging the Taken Fallen fighting a Devils holdout by the door into the launch facility, Komo punctuated her reply by first firing her Stillpiercer. Railing a Taken Vandal hiding in cover through his glowing eye, the unstable rift-point turned into a mini-black hole, sucking the Vandal's body in on itself before vanishing into thin air.

"_Yeah, a bullseye_. Hey, Alvara, you want to move in closer? I'll see about picking more of them off, then we can all…what…_the hell._" Komo started to offer, the smile and good mood from her first sentence turning into concern and disbelief as a rift began to form over the Devils holding out near the door. The last of them fleeing inside or dying to their used-to-be-brethren, the new arrival seemed to be for them, not the Fallen. Dropping out of the rift with a loud thump, the creature looked like it used to be an Imperial Colossus, but now, in addition to the typical Taken-ified look, the Tortured Colossus had a series of strange, crystalline growths on it. Covering its arms, knees, and its shoulder-line, the black crystals took on the same Taken-style light glow near the tips, the only other visual distinctions from an Imperial Colossus being its Division flags hanging off its back now flew Oryx's logo, not a Cabal one. Carrying a strange weapon that looked like a fractured Hive-architecture pillar with carrying handles, the weapon was soon proven to be just like a Heavy Slug Thrower as the Tortured Colossus roared, firing the weapon in the air just like a normal Colossus would. "Cayde…..there's a bit of a _problem here._"

"A problem? Lemme guess: Four arms, wear capes, smell real bad?" Cayde joked, causing Kyra to look up at the air in a very '_Wait, __**what?!**_' manner. Remembering they had a Fallen with them, and an ex-Devil no less, it didn't take the wise-cracking Hunter long to realize his mistake. "Oh, uh….not you. I was talking about the _other _Fallen. The ones that have probably been sleeping on human bones and Hive dust for a couple years."

"No, Cayde, it's the Taken….they beat us here, and _now _Oryx gave us an Imperial Colossus to play with. Are you _sure _your stash is at the top of that colony ship?" Komo's Ghost asked, hoping they might just be able to bypass this thing. Considering Oryx's already borderline all-seeing ability through the Taken, it probably _is_ here if the deployment of a Colossus is anything to go by. Looking like it knew they were here, the Taken strangely didn't open fire, possibly waiting to bait them into a bad situation.

"Well, unless the colony ship inside the Devils' Lair is tipped over or gone entirely, yeah, it _should _still be there. If you don't want to fight the Colossus, that whole facility's probably dilapidated as _hell_, so maybe there's an eroded pipeline or flimsy grating you can smash in to crawl past him. Ghost, think you can do a radial-scan for something like that?" Cayde suggested, knowing that if it was Zavala on the mic, the order would just be 'Go through it'. Physically appearing while trying to keep low lest one of them catch a Solar Wire Rifle bolt through the eye, Komo's and Alvara's Ghosts both split their plates apart before emitting blue radial pulses, hoping to get an idea of the terrain in more detail. Combining their data afterwards, the two Ghosts silently floated there, staring at each other while their now-retracted plates rotated and twisted as they joint-analyzed their findings.

"By the looks of it, there aren't any pipeline routes available, but there _is _a garage door along the far right side that'll take us through a side-structure. We go through there, and it'll take us right into Sepiks' old worship-room. The sprint over there might be a bit rough, but it sounds like a nicer option than fighting _that _thing blind. Everyone agree?" Alvara's Ghost spoke up as the two Ghosts vanished from sight. Both Guardians spotting the waypoint while Kyra guessed based on where they were looking, it seemed like a fairly decent option. The two marksmen looking at each other for reassurance, they stepped back around the solar panels to avoid drawing too much attention as they planned their advance.

"It's not a far trek, but if we're not careful, we could probably get winged pretty badly….synchronized rush on three?" Alvara suggested, the lack of any kind of Titan throwing a wrench in the more traditional distraction plan. Not seeming too eager, but not having any better ideas, the trio were in agreement. All rising on cue and jumping off the front of their short building, the sprint seemed like it would be faster in their heads, as the awkward footwork to avoid falling over on landing that they _actually _did was_ considerably _slower. The sticky, wet mud mixed with snow giving the Colossus plenty of time to be alerted, the large Taken-Cabal fell to a squat, hanging its head forward as it rested its gun on the floor. Not going dormant, the Colossus was instead bracing itself as a crystalline rocket fired from its back. Being a single projectile unlike the cluster that normal Colossi fired, Kyra was able to get out of range as the missile went high before diving into the floor near them. With Komo Shade-Stepping out of the blast radius, it truly wasn't Alvara's luck with dodging Taken projectiles as the Bladedancer caught the rim of the blast, coating her left arm and shin in black, crystalline spikes.

Stumbling awkwardly from her considerably-weighted left side, Alvara was nonetheless able to clumsily fumble into safety, well out of the way of further attacks before her balance finally gave in. Falling face-down near a concrete wall under two massive pipes, the strangest thing to Alvara wasn't the crystalline growths, but instead the fact that they didn't hurt.

"The hell _is _this stuff? My arm's locked stiff, same with my ankle, but…..it feels fine. Like, it just feels like being stuck in a block of ice without the cold part." Alvara wondered, dropping her Zhalo to bash her closed right fist on her crystallized arm. Seeing some tiny cracks, this gave Komo a cue to grab Alvara's right arm. Looking at the Exo Hunter crossly, it soon made sense.

"If you don't mind, I think heavy leverage is more my thing….being an Exo and all." Komo said with a smile, taking Alvara's crystallized arm in one hand before clenching her other into a fist. Slamming the bottom of her fist down as hard as she could, the crystals cracked considerably, a followup smack revealing a portion of her arm. Using the broken-free region as leverage, Komo dug the claws of her Sealed Ahamkara Grasps under the crystals, wrenching more chunks of the crystal right off. Not leaving any 'contaminated' signs or other afflictions, Alvara was even able to move her wrist, elbow and fingers just fine once it was all pulled off. Giving the same treatment to the Hunter's shin, Komo made the admittedly risky decision of starting the shin off with a flat-out Judo Chop halfway down the shin, thankfully only breaking the crystal and not Alvara's bones along with it.

"If I had to guess, it might be some kind of crowd control element….why poison and afflict your targets when you can impede their movement, then let that brute's repeater do all the killing?" Kyra suggested, finding the lack of any 'tainting' or other poison elements to be the weirdest part. Not lingering on it, and with Alvara broken free, the trio turned their attention to the garage door that would take them into the facility. Looking fairly promising, this promise was killed when some globs of fire landed across the field, indicating that some Taken Knights were wise to their position.

"_Shit…._uh,I can probably wrench the garage door up if the rust's damaged the track enough. Problem is the Taken shooting at us, so if you two can return fire and make them stay back, I can _hopefully _get it up before another of those Crystal-Missiles hits us." Komo figured, not liking that her plan of attack was just '1: Squat and dig fingers under garage door. 2: Put all strength into raising garage door. 3: Get garage door open without turning into a crystal statue'. Getting a weirdly-shaped hand on her shoulder, Komo found it to be Kyra's fat-fingered, three-digit hand as the Vandal, along with Alvara, showed they were ready to move. Taking a deep breath, Komo led the trio as they kept running to the right, heads down as Boomers and Slug Thrower fire rained down on them. Getting to a pair of matching garage doors, Kyra and Alvara tried to cram into the tiny inlet at the door's edge while Komo put away her StillPiercer, falling into a low squat before digging both hands into the dirt. Getting her fingers under the bottom of the garage door, the Exo tried to ignore the raging gunfire just next to her as Alvara returned fire with her Zhalo, mostly doing so to deter any enterprising Taken Psions.

Taking a little bit, Komo soon found the result she wanted as the garage door cracked and creaked, slowly coming up as she rose to a standing position. Both teammates ducking and running under the door, Komo turned in place to be on the indoor-side of the garage door before noticing a Taken Psion running for her. Getting close, the Psion tried to dive for the Hunter as she let go of the garage door, instead getting nothing but a heavy, metal garage door slamming down on its back. Killed by the impact, the Psion soon reduced to white goop as the gunfire outside died off.

"Well, with that hurdle out of the way, is everyone ready to keep going? Like our Ghosts said, Sepiks' worship-room shouldn't be far off." Komo asked, trying to do so in a non-oppressive way given their recent near-death experience. Drawing her Hawkmoon Hand Cannon, the Exo Hunter had enough smarts to know playing authority over a fellow Hunter and a Fallen of all things was a sure-fire way to piss somebody off. Having dove to the far wall when she entered, Kyra gave a silent nod as she got back up. With Alvara simply re-adjusting her grip on her Zhalo to hold it properly, the two seemed to be deferring the lead to Komo. Going with it, Komo led the group down the dirty, dimly-lit facility they had entered in search of that side-door. Absolutely ravaged by water-damage, as well as general disrepair, the roof had fallen in at various places and dropped otherwise hidden wiring, framework beams, and previously roof-mounted light fixtures onto the floor. Having more dirt and puddles of water than actual metal flooring now, the closest thing to a source of light they had was Komo's and Alvara's Ghosts producing two spotlights for them.

"So…..Komo, was it? What _is _an Exo anyway? I work with one quite often, but he's a bit….._difficult_…to approach. Not hard to talk to, but attempting to pry anything out of his past feels like stepping into a minefield." Kyra inquired, appreciating Caldwell's generosity despite his boxed-up past experiences. With no Taken or Fallen in sight as they ascended a stone staircase on their right, a little small-talk before Oryx dropped more abominations on their heads seemed like a good idea.

"Well, I don't exactly have _every _last bit of my memories, but the bits I _can _tell you is at least some Exos, like myself, used to be human. I can't remember if it was a volunteer program or an alternate-out for criminals on Death Row, but Clovis Bray found some way to put human consciousness into a mechanical body that would last _much _longer than any amount of medical advancement would allow. I don't remember what led up to me getting there, I just remember my old name…..Koneko Murata. Cheeky bastards that transferred me decided to throw my first and last names together into Komu, then changed it to Komo because of a Komodo Dragon tattoo I had on my thigh as a human. As for the 49, that indicates my memory's been wiped 49 times…not like it _did _much. I still remember what I looked like, what I wore, how I acted….I just don't remember _why _I got picked. Every Exo's story is different, so the one thing you can probably apply to your friend is whatever number he's got is the amount of times something tried to wipe his slate clean." Komo explained, Alvara refraining from adding in that Komo's mind-wipes seemed to put some cracks in her mental slate more than clean it.

"Can you still feel? Physically I mean. Your Vanguard's _certainly _demonstrated that you keep your personality quirks and emotions, but can you feel the world around you with that metal body?" Kyra wondered, the trio coming to a series of terminals and monitors on the second floor. Looking like a monitoring station, the place was just as rusted over as the first floor, but at least had more flickering lights and less water and mud than downstairs. Their Ghosts' scans leading them to the right, the continued lack of Taken or Fallen was getting a small bit disconcerting.

"All Exos have temperature and windage sensors, but some, like myself, also opted for some aftermarket enhancements like a sensor-system built into my external plating in order to mimic the feeling of physical contact. It's just as accurate as the real thing, but I usually tone it down at times like this so getting shot doesn't hurt _quite _as bad. Unfortunately, extreme damage like a severed limb can't be toned down, and usually results in a forced shut-down if the Exo can't stabilize their systems fast enough. Exos can get aftermarket mods for all _kinds _of things: Discreet vents and sensors to detect and ID scents, tongues, teeth, internal processing systems to convert food into energy, and other…._improvements_….to mimic the human form that usually don't see the light of day. It's like having your body be your own little building-block set, you can do just about _whatever _you want to it." Komo clarified in an attempt to cover the entire spectrum, both teammates knowing _exactly _what Komo meant when she awkwardly tried to word 'improvements' at the end. Considering it a question well-answered regardless, the topic came to a close at the right time as the trio found their door after passing through what looked to be a dilapidated break-room, finding a similar garage-door to the one outside.

"Thankfully the door controls don't seem as fried by the elements as the one outside was…just a second, and I _should _have it open." Alvara's Ghost assured, saving Komo another awkward lift as he flew towards the glowing control-panel on the garage door's right side. Looking at Komo in a needing way, the Exo Hunter got the hint quite fast, walking over and ripping the panel off to let Alvara's Ghost get at the insides. Working its hardly-understood magic that visually amounted to a few well-placed blue lasers fired from its eye and into the door-circuitry, the Ghost got the door open quite fast. Slowly rising, the door stopped halfway up, causing Komo's shoulders to sag and a mildly peeved sigh to escape her mouth. Grabbing the underside of the door with her free hand, the Exo did the rest of the work, housing the garage door high as both teammates passed under before letting it drop again. "Hey, I said I _should _have it open."

Not lingering on the door, the trio instead found themselves on the right side of Sepiks' old worship-room, which also happened to be the place that the great Prime Servitor died at the hands of a Guardian Fireteam. Eerily quiet, both Hunters weren't sure how Kyra would feel upon seeing the wrecked, cold, dead Servitor just down the impromptu ramp to their right. With part of its chassis blown clean out, complete with wires and cables hanging out like disembowled intestines, the Servitor didn't even flash a light or groan in vain, it was completely lifeless metal. Putting her Wire Rifle on her back, Kyra ran down to the Servitor without hesitation, but rather than fall in front of it and mourn like the Hunters expected, Kyra took a curveball and grabbed hold of one of Sepiks' exposed cables. Sturdy enough to support her weight without coming out, Kyra climbed up Sepiks' chassis and into the blown-open hole, seemingly looking for something. Approaching the Servitor, both Hunters confusedly watched as Kyra rotated the Prime Servitor's inner core a bit before reaching in with all four hands, pulling out a large, grey, octagonal device.

"Alvara, can we trans-mat this into storage? Could use it for later." Kyra requested, holding the strange object. Looking like an 8-sided core of sorts that was 18" long and 14" wide, the device was smooth, light grey metal all around, and dotted with glowing lights and vents across its surface.

"Sure, but….what _is _it?" Alvara asked, not recognizing the object. Obliging regardless, Alvara's Ghost appeared and floated up to the Vandal, scanning the device as it swiftly vanished into thin air, successfully trans-matted.

"It's a Servitor's Central Core. The brain, essentially, and a _Prime's _core is a _very _big deal. What we'd be using it for, though, I'll explain later. It doesn't store any greater data about the Devils, so it's useless to your Vanguards." Kyra explained, wanting to make sure she personally kept her hands on it rather than it turning over to the City. Jumping down from the Servitor's dead shell, the Vandal gestured for the other two to lead on, bringing them to a small problem in the form of a high jump they needed to make. With both Hunters being in the clear, the problem was the fact that Kyra, who wasn't a Guardian, didn't have any form of magical jumping ability like the Hunter's double-jump, and the Plasteel in her custom armor weighed her down more than other Vandals. Both Hunters getting up the sloped, collapsed walkway with their Blink and Double-Jumps, Kyra got a bone thrown to her as Alvara laid down by the edge, extending one arm down to pull the Vandal up. Getting a running start, Kyra jumped for the wall with arms outstretched, catching the Hunter's arm as the latter pulled her up. Their Ghosts silently updating Cayde on their location, the Hunter Vanguard had something to say on it.

"Alright, you should be coming up on a vault door soon. Lemme know when you get there, because there's a trick to getting in." Cayde informed, not knowing the unpleasant and awkward truth that the team saw. Able to see the vault door from where they stood, the trio advanced on the door uneasily, not knowing how to tell Cayde that the door was already open.

"Uh, Cayde…..the door's already unlocked. We just walked right in like it's nothing." Komo's Ghost explained, breaking the awkward silence as they effortlessly entered the launch-tower. Following a walkway that led along the right wall, the open door at the end made it seem like the Fallen bypassed all these countermeasures long ago.

"It's….open? And the Flux Grenades didn't detonate? _I need to get out of this Tower…_" Cayde mumbled to himself on the last sentence, thinking back on Merikh's advice from before. Ignoring Cayde's personal plight, the trio entered through the bunker-style door at the walkway's far end to find a wide, low-ceiling room with a prominent Taken Blight taking up residence in the ceiling. A small orb indicative of Taken arrival appearing near a row of simplistic elevators at the room's back end, the orb soon disappeared in favor of a crowd of Taken Thralls, showing that Oryx took even the lowest, most useless of creatures. Slowly and methodically marching forward, the Thralls revealed their party trick as Komo threw a grenade at them, a number of the Thralls almost teleporting a short distance away in the blink of an eye. Only leaving a slight, white trail between where they were and where they moved, it was hard to tell if the move was a teleport or a sudden burst of speed.

Alvara's Zhalo rifle chaining lightning between a number of them, the ones that didn't get electrocuted were either brained by Komo's Hawkmoon or split apart by Kyra's Shock Blades, the Vandal not wanting to try target-practice on a dodgy target. Only coming in a single wave, and not even doing anything spectacular like exploding on death, the encounter seemed intimidating for the first few seconds before devolving into more typical Thrall-killing. Seeing that the only way was up, the three boarded the central lift in the line before Alvara's Ghost turned it on, causing the lift to, quite surprisingly, function reliably.

"Cayde…when's the last time you rode this elevator?" Alvara's Ghost wondered, feeling like it was working _too _reliably to be true. Not having any awkward budges or creaking, all three occupants were just _waiting _for it to fail like every other piece of machinery in this place.

"_Relax, _it'll be fine…but, uh, stand by for resurrection, Ghost." Cayde assured before muttering out a warning that left absolutely no assurance in the oh-so-conveniently Ghostless Vandal riding this deathtrap. Thankfully getting to the top without dying, it was once at the top that they realized just how high up they were. Seeing the ship in question, the route to it was _far _too long of a gap for even the Guardians to cross, and what they'd assume is the controls for the bridge were rife with burn marks and slashes indicative of Shock Rifles and Blades.

"Cayde, the bridge is pulled back and the controls are fried to bits…..any suggestions on how to get across?" Komo's Ghost inquired, the damage to the controls seeming too great for even a Ghost to subvert.

"Yeah, that would be the Fallen, probably trying to keep the Taken off their backs….there should be an override above you, near the top of the tower. If you can get up there and mess with it a bit, the bridge _should _move." Cayde directed, thankfully having some useful input here. Seeing a staircase off to the right, Kyra knew where this was going as she put her Shock Blades away, quickly ascending the stairs while the Hunters waited by the controls. Alvara's Ghost flying after her, the little machine intended to tag along for the actual overriding, following the Vandal up more stairs until they came to an open-air, framework-heavy section of the tower. Seeing the Ghost fly up to where she needed to go, Kyra looked at her options before spotting a deactivated generator covered by a blue tarp. Climbing up on it, Kyra leapt next for the edge of the platform above her, pulling herself up onto flat ground once more. Climbing on a second dead generator, then onto the framework around an antenna, the Vandal cautiously clambered onto a diagonal, nearly-dislodged section of flooring on the level above her to reach the platform on which her target resided.

Going into a low crouch, Kyra demonstrated that even the Fallen could fear heights as she cautiously approached the small fuse-box-like object, ripping the exterior panel off. Alvara's Ghost doing its thing with the internals of the object, it quickly paid off as the bridge in question very loudly began to rotate, slowly turning into position. Eagerly stepping on, the two Hunters avoided the missing panels along the platform as they crossed the gap, making it safely to the other side. Noticing the dead Vandal up here with her, Kyra patted the dead man down for any valuables before pushing his body off the current floor to give herself more room, not feeling even the slightest bit of sympathy for the dead Devil. Carefully scaling down the structure before jumping down through an angular chute-like circular hole that was placed directly over the doorway leading onto the bridge, Kyra was right in position to cross before the bridge creaked and whined, letting off a long, unsettling groan. Getting worse, the middle section of the bridge showed its time had come to an end as it unceremoniously gave way, falling free and clear of both structures before careening into the abyss below.

Peering over the edge, Kyra scrunched up slightly in fear as she heard the loud, violent crash of the bridge slamming into the floor many stories below them. Sitting there and lingering on it, the Vandal wasn't looking forward to the inevitability that she'd need to cross this chasm at some point, preferably some point soon before more bridge continued to fall off.

"No pressure, right? It's only a potentially mile-or-so-long chasm that, if you fall, there wouldn't be any identifiable remains left, and you can't even get resurrected by a Ghost." Alvara's Ghost pointed out to Kyra, floating just left of the Vandal's head. Strongly annoyed, Kyra exerted enough restraint to contain her frustration into a simple pointer-finger flick at the Ghost's eye. Recoiling slightly from the blow, the Ghost got the point, vanishing as it went back to Alvara. Meanwhile on Alvara and Komo's side, the two Hunters were frenetically trying to think of a Plan B to get Kyra across before more of the bridge gave way. Looking around, Komo got a weird, but possibly feasible idea as she looked at the pole-shaped hand-rails near them.

"Wait…..I can probably rip this free….think if I hold this out and you hold onto me, Kyra can grab hold of it and we pull her over? I just wish it was longer, because just one of these things is _really _going to be pushing it…." Komo thought out loud, not liking the distance-chances at play here. Getting an idea, Alvara silently praised the time she spent with Kyra, which would soon pay off.

"Hey, Kyra! Throw me your Shock Dagger!" Alvara called out across the chasm, putting her Zhalo on her back and making opening/closing gestures with her hands. Drawing the dagger, Kyra didn't know where this was going, but had no reason to oppose it as she tried her best to hurl the dagger across the chasm. Catching the blade in both hands, Alvara stepped back from the edge and held it correctly in her right hand. "Alright, pull two of those hand-rails off."

"Ok…..not sure how that'll help." Komo admitted, doing it anyway as she braced one foot on the wall of the bridge, ripping the rail and its wall-mount free from the wall. Pulling more to make the other wall-mounts along the rail's length pop, Komo set the rail down before doing the same to the other railing in parallel to the first, getting two long metal rods at their disposal. "Alright, you've got two rods….now what?"

"_Now…_we fuse them together." Alvara smiled, Kyra having taught her how to operate a Shock Dagger's various settings at a previous point in time. Directing Komo to hold the two railings end-to-end against each other, Alvara tweaked the knife to the appropriate setting before pressing the blade against the area where one rail ended and the other started. Doing so very delicately, Alvara was actually able to weld the railings together as Komo slowly rotated both pieces, fusing it on all sides. Now with one double-length stick, Alvara put the Shock Dagger away as Komo walked to their side's edge with it.

"Do _all _Shock Daggers do that? Because if they do, I need to get one….." Komo asked, seeing a useful tool now. Letting the actual answer slide until later, Komo held the long rod as close to its end as she comfortably could as Alvara wrapped her right arm around Komo's stomach from behind, the left arm trying to firmly grab the bridge and keep them both from going over. Seeing what they were getting at, Kyra took a deep breath before trying to reach out for it, not finding that to work so well. Not liking the implications of this, Kyra didn't give them time to just weld on a third railing, instead going for a leap of faith as she ran, jumped, and got hold of the pole with all four hands. Comedically clutching onto the pole for dear life, and even wrapping both legs around it, Kyra looked like she was panicking in every way _except _screaming as Komo tried to hold onto the rod with both hands, slowly pulling it up. Alvara attempting to tighten her hold on Komo, the Exo Hunter slowly pulled more of the pole up until Kyra could reach for the bridge, pulling herself up and onto safe ground. "Ok, here's another question….are _all _Vandals that fuckin' crazy?"

"Only when they're desperate." Kyra answered, getting her Shock Dagger back as Komo let the joined rod slide off into the abyss. With that problem behind them, the trio boarded the actual colony ship only to be _very _swiftly greeted by the Taken, a small group of Thralls and a duo of Vandals teleporting in. With one Solar Wire Rifle Vandal on a half-circular platform above them, Alvara went for the Thralls and the second, Arc Sharpen Launcher-carrying Vandal while Kyra set sights on the first one, a Solar bolt grazing past her helmet's right horn. Retaliating with her own Wire Rifle, Kyra was able to destabilize the Vandal's body with a headshot, only to be soon greeted after by a Thrall psuedo-Blinking around the corner and behind her. Whipping around to put her Wire Rifle between her and the Thrall's claws, Kyra got a surprise save as Komo stepped in, thwacking the Thrall on its glowing eye with the surprisingly sharp talon mounted to the bottom of her Hawkmoon's grip. Severely pissing it off, the Thrall only got to howl and scream before Komo took its head off, offering to help the Vandal up afterwards. Seeing a snow-blasted slope in front of them, followed by some mangled metal and other layers of the colony ship's lower-most bulb, the Taken Vandal on a perch to the left indicated where they needed to go.

Dealing with him with relatively little issue, the ledges they needed to climb here were far more tolerable, Kyra actually able to jump and scale without Hunter aid as they went left around the edge of the colony ship. Spotting an outward-jutting, square, brown metal platform, Komo and Alvara were the first to go for it, finding the nasty surprise of a Taken Phalanx inside. Even Komo feeling what could be described as her heart dropping despite not actually _having _a heart, the Exo Hunter made a move to save them both as she ran forward, Shade-Stepping past the Phalanx. Considering her the more priority threat, the Phalanx turned with her, firing a pulse of energy from its shield to blast her back-first into the wall behind them. Better that than flinging them off the colony ship, Alvara and a newly-arrived Kyra laid into the Phalanx's back, overwhelming its thick armor with sheer volume of rounds as they cut him down.

"Thanks for taking the hit…it's _really _starting to feel like Oryx is watching our every move if he's dropping Phalanxes in convenient spots like that. Personally, I don't know if he's trying every cheap trick he can to kill us, or if he's just got a sadistic sense of humor." Alvara thanked, helping the Exo Hunter stand up again. Taking the Awoken Hunter's free hand with her own free hand, Komo stood back up with little issue, but still felt the need to brace the back of her right hand against her lower back, showing that the impact wasn't pleasant regardless.

"You're welcome…..I'm just _really _not looking forward to the Feedback Jam that's going to cause tomorrow. For now, let's keep going before it gets worse: both my back _and _the Taken." Komo suggested, a Feedback Jam being the Exo equivalent of a headache. Taking the lead just in-case Komo's wall-splat caused any structural damage to her chassis, Alvara led the group to the right, the whisping wind through a blown-out section of wall on the right reminding them of how high up they were. With more nearly-dislodged grate-platforms in front of them, the two Hunters jumped up both with little issue, only stopping to catch Kyra's hand as the Vandal ran and jumped to scale each one. With Komo too busy foolishly looking at the gutted framework of the bulb and the perilous drops below them, and Alvara helping pull Kyra up the second climb, nobody noticed the actually normal, non-Taken Devils Fallen not too far off until one of the Dregs hurled a Shock Grenade at them.

Going between Kyra and Alvara, both Hunters had a knee-jerk reaction to throw their grenades, the duo of a Skip Grenade and a Voidwall Grenade lighting some on fire and blasting the rest. Dealing with the measly three Dregs surprisingly fast, their attention was next on the single collection of pipes that made up a link between their platform and the deceased Dregs' platform. Letting the Hunters go first due to their ability to simply hop over, Kyra took the slower route and tightrope-walked across the pipes gently, all four arms out like a balancing act while she prayed for the Hunters to cover if more Fallen came around. Getting across, it was just in time for Kyra to turn her attention forward again as a ragged, disheveled, frenetic Captain ran at the two Hunters. Seeming panicked and hysterical, the Captain's armor was partially missing, his cloak was tattered and burned more than the norm, and he enacted his charge with a Shrapnel Launcher rather than the sensible dual Shock Blades.

Kicking Alvara over with a blindsiding right-foot-meet-left-shoulder blow, Alvara's shields were popped, and Komo's nearly so as the Captain spotted her too, the sheer unexpectedness of his arrival delaying her response. Nearly depleting her shields, it took Kyra's Wire Rifle to the head to slow the Captain's fervor, followed by a newly-arisen Alvara tossing her knife into the Captain's inner-left eye. Thrown off-target even more, it only took a quick kneecap from Komo's Hawkmoon, then a followup execution-style shot from the same weapon to put him out of his misery.

"A noble Captain, fighting like a Dreg….either the Devils have fallen farther than I thought, or this Oryx creature is instilling a fear in the Fallen not seen since the Great Whirlwind that left us in this state to begin with…for the Devils, I call it retribution, but I _do _truly fear what this means for the Suns and any other sensible Fallen out there." Kyra pondered out loud, finding the panicked Captain's behavior to be exceptionally barbaric and animalistic for the otherwise pompous, precise, and surgical Captains. Silently urging for them to move on with a small head-jerk, mostly to avoid causing unnecessary concern about her mental state, Kyra was the last up the next ledge, but the first to loathe what waited on the other side. All three of them needing to fall into a low crouch to fit through the gap, the trio all opted to put their weapons away and crawl for the sake of better dexterity as they looked ahead, seeing nothing but a couple exposed I-Beams and the drop below them. Cautiously crawling over to the beams, Komo took the lead, followed by Alvara, and then Kyra as the trio carefully clung to the beams, just as carefully transitioning to a perpendicular second beam that led them onto wider ground.

Having to walk on another beam to get to the ledge above them, this one was thankfully wide enough to comfortably walk on, the trio using their same system of both Hunters jumping up, then one helps Kyra up. The area in front of them being eerily clear, fresh footprints in the collections of snow made it seem like Fallen or Taken Fallen were recently through here, but none were visible. Being a proper walkway area with a hand-rail at the edge, Komo took a second to stop and admire the view, making a joke that she forgot a Fallen wouldn't get.

"Hey, Kyra, bet you can see your house from here." Komo joked, not meaning it in a literal sense as she gestured out towards the vista with her left pointer finger. Spanning for miles upon miles in front of them, they could even see the great wall that bordered the Cosmodrome, as well as three other Colony Ship launch sites.

"But, I've….._seen _my House recently. We killed a few Dregs and a Captain from the Devils just down the way we came not long ago." Kyra said in confusion, the joke going about as far over her head as they were off the ground. Hanging her head slightly forward, Komo gave up, not finding the joke to be worth explaining as she simply kept on walking. Carrying on down the walkway and taking a right back inside the structure, a couple more turns and a staircase up led them into another internal room that, despite having some Fallen containers at the back, was completely vacant.

"There was that small group of Devils not far back….where are the rest of them?" Alvara asked, finding the silence somewhat eery. Jumping up to a higher tier in the room, the trio found not a trace of Fallen except the active Grav-Lift tucked around a corner near the back. Humming gently, the device was alive and functional, leaving it as the only possible place more Devils could've gone. Knowing the only way was up, each member stepped in, hoping the Stealth Drives would be up here.

Ascending the Fallen-made Grav-Lift into the top bulb of the colony ship, the trio were abruptly shaken up as the lift slammed them each face-first into a flat piece of metal in front of their exit-chute, causing them to drop to the floor of the top bulb. Landing in a heap that had Kyra on top of Alvara on top of Komo, the three were slow to recover from their unceremonious landing. Slowly rolling off each other, Kyra was the first to look forward, using her lower arms to pat her teammates and alert their attention to the crew of Devils staring them down. With multiple guns trained on them and no good cover, it was arguable whether Oryx's arrival was a blessing or a curse. Bursting in through what seemed to be a cyan explosion in the middle of the room, the new arrival was a black, legless copy of Oryx like what was spotted in Switzerland. Wielding a large, matchingly black Cleaver in each hand, the Echo of Oryx's arrival took care of all the Devils staring them down with an on-arrival double-Cleaver ground-slam, but now, they had to kill this Echo.

"You cannot run, murderer of Crota…_vengeance, in his name, __**will **__be delivered!_" The Echo of Oryx yelled upon righting its posture, possibly mistaking one of the two Hunters for Merikh. Scattering, Komo went right while Alvara went left, leaving Kyra to run past the Echo once its attention was turned elsewhere. Seemingly melee-focused, the Echo had the same party-tricks as the Taken Cavalier from Switzerland, hurling a Cleaver at Alvara. Spinning like a horizontal sawblade, the large Cleaver left a whisp of cyan energy behind as it flew towards the Hunter, only to immediately start on its rebound back to the Echo upon hitting a generator near Alvara. Catching the blade, that arm pulled back as the other swung forward, flinging the other Cleaver in much the same manner for a second shot. Seeming like it was dead-set on attacking Alvara, the other two couldn't think of a much better plan than to just start firing, Komo ending the Cleaver barrage with a StillPiercer round to the Echo's head.

Hitting it in the back of the head, the Echo's life-readings seemed to actually get decently chunked as its head bent forward from the impact, showing that it was capable of being hurt by conventional means. Screaming and vanishing, the Echo reappeared above Komo's perch, both Cleavers raised for a downward slam. Running and Shade-Stepping away, Komo dodged the initial downward slam, but had to Shade-Step once again as the Echo frenetically followed up with low, sweeping, alternated left/right swings. Jumping off the higher platform onto the ground floor of the arena, it took a callout from Kyra to spot and avoid the crescendo to the Echo's attack. Throwing both Cleavers into the floor where Komo stood at once, Komo moving away saved her from being eviscerated as the Cleavers spun in place for a few seconds, actually searing two gashes in the floor where they spun like sawblades.

Teleporting to its blades, the Echo snatched both up before giving them a single twirl in its hands, deciding who to target next. Going for Kyra, the Echo used the same demented Blink-copy as the Thralls to dart in her direction, swinging both blades in parallel in a crescent-shaped upward swing upon exiting the Blink. Not actually in melee range of Kyra, the Echo's goal wasn't direct Cleaver damage, but instead to hit her with the rushing wave of Arc energy that its upward swing generated. Getting out of the way, the crafty Fallen humorously disrupted the Echo by retaliating with one of her rarely-used Shock Grenades. Hurling the column-shaped charge at the Echo, the explosive device firmly latching on between the Echo's three eyes greatly confused the Oryx-copy, causing it to drop both Cleavers and reach for its face. Not able to get the grenade off in time, the electrical detonation hurt it, but didn't kill it as the Echo darted forward in a rage. Not even holding its Cleavers, the Echo grabbed hold of Kyra in one hand before flinging her upwards. Not even caring about a followup, the Echo simply tossed the Vandal in hopes of killing her with high-speed force.

Grabbing hold of the metal framework above the arena, Kyra clambered up on top of it, hoping to either drop on the Echo's head or drop something else on said head, such as the various interior panels that made up her current flooring. Reclaiming its Cleavers, the wounded Echo went back to its Cleaver-tossing against Alvara and Komo, blatantly ignoring the Vandal. Not completely ignored, both Alvara's Ghost and a Taken Psion appeared to greet her. Splitting into two Psions, the Taken Psions were highly aggressive due to the lack of cover, rushing right at her with their mini-Slug Rifles firing. Drawing her Shock Blades, the Vandal was thankful for the Psions' atrociously bad aim as she let them get close. Ducking when they were near, Kyra gave the right one a right-to-left upward diagonal swing with her right blade, almost lifting the Psion off its feet and carrying it with the blade before the Psion disintegrated. The left one responding to this, it broke off another Psion just before getting Kyra's left blade through its head in a straight-stab. The newly-spawned Psion wrapping its arms around Kyra's stomach in a forward-tackle, the duo came to rest just by the edge of their arena, Kyra's head actually hanging off the edge of the framework they laid on.

Swinging one leg up, Kyra helped the Psion along with her lower hands as she bucked him off, sending the Psion head-first into the arena below where, despite dividing again, both Psions were completely eradicated on impact with the floor. Crawling back slightly from the edge of her rectangular panel, Kyra turned to Alvara's Ghost, which had been waiting for the fighting to stop before he'd speak.

"I know I made a crack joke about heights earlier, but if you think you can drop on that Echo's head, a good stabbing _might_ kill it pretty quick." Alvara's Ghost suggested, the continued engagement below having chunked its life-readings down to about 1/4 remaining. Getting an evil idea, Kyra was about o get her _true _payback for the Ghost's joke at the bridge.

"You're right…..and I even have a good course-correction to make sure I get there." Kyra agreed, Alvara's Ghost hardly getting out a 'Wait, what?' before the Vandal sheathed one Shock Blade, still holding one in her upper right hand as her upper left grabbed hold of Alvara's Ghost. Using his expected resistance to slow her down, Kyra up and jumped over the edge of her panel in the framework, aiming for the Echo's back. Ignoring the Ghost's wild protests, Kyra let go when she was safely in-line, landing on the Echo's back. Grabbing its left horn in her left hands, Kyra ran the blade through the back of its head, poking out through the front as the Echo screamed again. Pausing from its attack, the Echo tried to resume attacking with a frantic right-hand Cleaver toss at Alvara, prompting Komo to pop up and shoot it in the lower back. Turning to attack Komo, the Echo tossed its other Cleaver, only to get shot in the back by Alvara's Zhalo. Snapping back to Alvara, the Echo was now disrupted as Kyra removed her Shock Blade, stabbing it through the back of the Echo's neck this time.

Reaching up to pull her off, the Echo got a Shock Dagger through the back of its left hand for the effort, Kyra pulling her Shock Blade out of its head before going with the Echo's stabbed hand. Still holding onto her Dagger in her upper left hand, the upper right hand sent the killshot home as the Echo's arm-flailing carried her up to its head once more. Going with the momentum of it, Kyra let go of her Dagger at the peak of the Echo's arm-swing, sending her right-hand-wielded Shock Blade right through its top eye. Gutturally groaning, the Echo drifted into a backwards fall as Kyra rode the dead copy to the ground. Getting off, it was once Kyra removed her Shock Blade that the Echo's body let off a spectral howl, quickly dissipating in an off-white/cyan burst of light. Even the Guardians needing to cover their ears a bit, the process was thankfully quick, allowing them to carry on with finding Cayde's stash.

"I know that worked, but next time, can you _ask _before you use me to kill the echo of a Hive god?" Alvara's Ghost asked, thankful, yet still audibly annoyed at how he was abruptly used. The Guardians joining Kyra and Alvara's Ghost in the center of the arena, Alvara's Ghost was the only one not laughing at Kyra's upcoming joke.

"Look at it this way: Now you can say Ghosts do something more useful than open doors most of the time." Kyra cheerfully pointed out, almost sounding so happy to annoy the Ghost further as she gently patted the side of it with her upper left hand. Deciding to silently alert Cayde that the target-area was clear, the next big issue was _finding it_.

"Hey, Cayde….where exactly_ did_ you stash these Stealth Drives? Because I'm seeing nothing but Fallen containers, dead Fallen, and a little Taken goop on my boot after stepping in some splattered Psion. Unless Taken can't see the color white, it's _not _exactly Dreadnaught-boarding material." Komo asked, dragging her right foot on the floor to get some of it off. Thankfully, the cynical, sarcastic Vanguard was cynical, sarcastic, _and _crafty.

"It _all _depends on where you look….if you look opposite of the side you came in from, is there a single grey Fallen container sitting there, all on its own?" Cayde asked, sounding quite confident. Orienting herself in the right direction relevant to his instructions, Komo did in fact spot a single, lonesome grey Fallen container.

"Yeah….what about it?" Komo asked, feeling like there was more to this than just 'open it' if the Fallen hadn't stolen it yet.

"Have your Ghost go near it and tap into Frequency 5982. Local channels obviously." Cayde explained, Alvara walking up and handling that portion of the instructions. Her Ghost tapping into the right frequency, a little legwork on the Ghost's part soon made the entire container vanish like a disabled hologram, leaving behind a stack of Stealth Drives. Relatively small and feasible to carry, Alvara's and Komo's Ghosts still opted to Transmat the entire stockpile away to their ships. With that done, Cayde had a small followup request. "Alright, good, with those Stealth Drives, we can get on the Dreadnaught….just leave them with Zulu in Poland, I'll get a friend to come pick them up so we can bypass all that stuff like _cargo logs _and _citing intent_ for why we've got ship-grade Stealth Drives coming into the City. In the meantime, all of you get out to Africa and meet up with the rest of your Fireteams. Ikora's got a lead on something valuable relating to Oryx, and it probably wouldn't hurt to have two teams on this. Hopefully, by the time you get there, I'll have more to tell you."

_Later, amidst the collections of Fallen-made houses under the Sun-Ketch Dreviks-Fel, Africa….._

Finally getting word from Cayde after Killian's explanation about Helsis, the line was sent to Caldwell, who gestured for Sivala and Merikh to follow him outside. Stepping out onto the outdoor balcony area where Riksis and Kyra were, Caldwell's Ghost appeared to play the transmission on speaker in a sense, mostly to keep Riksis and Kyra in the loop. All three sitting down along the wall next to the two Fallen, all five listened as Cayde spoke up.

"Alright, finally got something more from Ikora….she wants you to go out to the Greek island of Chios. Supposedly, that Sword of Crota, Nikthar, that you met after you killed ol' Daddy Dearest's son has gone to Chios and set up there. Now he's working for Oryx, and based on the loose reports we've gotten out of the area, there have been Hive sightings across various bits of the island, all originating on the western side. With no visible base of operations, and the fact that a few of them came out with seaweed on them, I hate to say it, but this Nikthar's base of operations is _probably _underwater. Good thing Titans sink, am I right?" Cayde joked, actually able to see Sivala's souring expression at that joke. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Sadly, your ships aren't really dual-purpose between air and sea, but hopefully there's some kind of teleportation system around to get you in. If not, we'll see if we can improv something to get you in with as few risks of drowning as possible. Worst case scenario maybe we can go dig out Sepiks Prime's corpse and turn it into a giant diving bell or something…"

"Think you'd want to go with? All three of you and we just make it one giant raiding team?" Merikh suggested, looking over at Sivala.

"I've got all night to think about it….also depends on if any of the Vanguard have anything else for us. If they don't, gladly. Only if you think having the whole family around isn't going to be the death of you." Sivala pseudo-agreed, her end-point referring to having the sister-trio of Airada, Alvara, and SIvala all in one place for an extended job.

"Honestly, after the improvised mission-briefing Cayde gave us in the med-wing, I don't know _what _woman's going to be the death of me at this point…" Merikh admitted, referring to the less-than-savory exchange with Komo during Cayde's pre-Germany briefing. With Cayde closing the line after giving a brief goodbye, it was truly up in the air as to what awaited them in Greece.

_Meanwhile, deep inside the Dreadnaught, near Saturn's rings….._

Focused deeply on his work, and most commonly only disturbed for the sake of more conquests in Oryx's name, the Warpriest was occasionally distracted from his work by more unexpected circumstances as his King slowly drifted into the room. Separate from the Basilica, the Warpriest was the only Hive on the Dreadnaught that Oryx had consigned two rooms to for his personal use. The Basilica was to judge traitorous Hive, and the Sanctorium, the Warpriest's personal study was to complete the task Oryx had given him: Taming the ravenous Larvae that resided in every one of them. Similarly dark, dusty, and dreary like the rest of the Dreadnaught, the Warpriest's personal study was a large, high-ceiling, grey-walled room decorated with numerous talismans hanging on chains linked to the roof. Along the right wall were shrines dedicated to the various Hive deities, ranging from Oryx and his sisters to the remaining Worm Gods, and even a now-useless shrine to the deceased Crota. Far smaller in scale than the Shrines of Oryx that Crota had set up in various places, more on par with a large globe than the big shrines, it was like a smaller-scale, less-powerful version purely for experimentation purposes rather than tithing.

"Have the additional ships arrived yet? Until our fleet is back up to full strength, I cannot assure victory over your son's killers, even with my presence." The Warpriest preemptively spoke, turning away from one of the many books he had on the table at the far back of the room. A collection of both stolen literature from races the Hive have conquered, as well as the Warpriest's own notes and thoughts, the Warpriest took such care to collect and translate these foreign texts in hopes that one of them would at least provide a slight hint or lead on how to tame these Larvae.

"No, nothing on further ships…the closest forces beneath me that aren't already here are impossibly far away, and both my sisters are outside of contact. Even if I _could _reach them, Xivu feels I've become too powerful, and Savathûn feels we need to grow different from one another, so they'd refuse to aid us here….." Oryx admitted, gently gliding into the room with an exceptionally somber tone. In response to this, the Warpriest seized the large, serrated, ceremonial dagger off the table in front of him, whipping around and jamming it between his King's ribs. Growling in pain, Oryx nonetheless didn't retaliate, knowing exactly why the Warpriest did it.

"My apologies, my lord, but you're doing it again: I understand it's in your nature to be inquisitive, but until I find a way to silence these larvae and break our dependence on the Worm Gods, as you asked me to, I fear your inquisitiveness and behavior that falls anything less than that of a ruthless warlord will be the literal death of you." The Warpriest apologized, letting the dagger sit in Oryx's side.

"No apology required, my sister did something similar a long time ago. More extreme, but similar intent. And you're right: Until we're free, there is only the Sword-Logic, no matter what parts of our past may haunt us." Oryx admitted, pulling the dagger out of his ribs and dropping it on the floor.

"It's Aurash, isn't it? The little simulation-creature? Wasn't she consumed when you sacrificed that Quria machine?" The Warpriest inquired, not sure why it was causing such conflicting ideals within his King.

"No, she escaped somehow. I have yet to pay mind to how those Vex function, but I believe Aurash slipped through a crack at the last moment to somewhere or somewhen else. A different world, a different dimension, a different place in time, she's out there somewhere, and it concerns me. The reasons for why are my own, but that's irrelevant: Your actions have helped keep me centered regardless of what you know." Oryx thanked, needing someone to finally strike back at him so he'd reaffirm his place at the top, just as the Sword-Logic dictated. Keeping it a close secret that Aurash was his ancient self, Oryx pushed his concerns about what the copy of himself was doing to the back of his head as his twin daughters, Ir Halak and Ir Anûk drifted into the room, followed by a set of four Marauders escorting a strange box. Not of Hive design in the slightest, the box was clean metal and alloys, looking like it was more of human design than anything else.

"Father, if we may disturb you, we found this floating just outside the Dreadnaught. Its appearance is unimpressive, but when we sensed its contents, we saw to it that it was retrieved immediately." Ir Halak spoke for the two of them, all four Marauders, falling to one knee with their heads bowed forward in honor of their King. Trusting that his daughters were smart enough to check it before bringing it before him, Oryx floated forward, grabbing the metal bar-handle along the top edge closest to him. Pulling upwards, the lid of the container pulled right off and was casted aside, showing the painfully familiar sight and aura of Crota's sword and helmet. Seizing the helmet without hesitation, Oryx brought it up to head level with himself, almost dumbfounded that it was in fact the actual helmet of his dead son, not a mocking replica. Feeling the fire of revenge fill himself again, Oryx's inquisitiveness meant he couldn't help but wonder at the crate that brought it here.

"Interesting…..this isn't an object of our design. Perhaps there's a sympathizer to the Sword-Logic in their midst?" Oryx wondered despite how strange it was to think a human might be Hive-sympathetic.

"We _did _sense a single spot of Light come close to the ship, and the craft it dwelled in left this behind. The Light was tainted though…..halfway-dark, like a weak Thrall midway through its transition into a stronger Acolyte, which is possibly why more of us weren't alerted to its arrival. It came as quickly as it went, so I believe this to be an act of appeasement, or an offering in exchange for permission to serve you." Ir Halak suggested, not perfectly sure herself.

"It's possible…..while the Warpriest completes his task, I have one for you two: Find this tainted Light, see if you can discover its source and intentions. Perhaps we can make Savathûn proud with an act of cunning by tearing the Light down with one of their own." Oryx commanded, seeing a possible weak-link in the Light that could be exploited. Placing Crota's helmet back down inside the box, Oryx let one hand hang on the edge of it, showing that he wished to take it back with him to the High War rather than leave it with his daughters. Both nodding at once, the twin Deathsingers led the four Marauders out of the room, the twin-doors closing behind them.

"If we fully corrupt this little piece of Light, perhaps they could be useful….the Light doesn't demand from its Guardians after all. Perhaps, by studying this one, I can learn something valuable." The Warpriest admitted, partially to himself as he turned back to his studies. With Oryx departing as well, the fates of all at play in this war were uncertain, even to the supposed god-King.

Phoenix-7 is created, named and owned by The Assassin's mentor

Author's Note:

Took a small bit longer than intended with this one, but it was partially slowed down because of a combination of school (Which, believe me, I hate to be one of those writers that's incredibly slowed down by school, but going into college I worry it might get even worse, so I hope I'll still keep my head up when that comes) and the fact that, for the majority of the chapter, I tried to actually model it around the real Cayde's Stash mission, albeit with some obvious changes so it's not a dull read that just follows the bullet-points of the real mission. Removed some small engagements, changed the entryway into Sepiks Prime's room, but the majority of the mission is intact, and I intentionally made multiple references to the scenery so that, if someone were to go back and play the mission, they could actually spot those nods as they play.

Moving on to what's new, the Tortured Colossus served a dual-purpose: First, it added the Colossus into the general Taken pool rather than just being a one-off bit with Ta'aun and nowhere else. Despite that, some elements are the same, like using the same Hive-ified Heavy Slug Thrower and similar Colossus-like movements. Second, it showed off the design distinction we settled on for the Tortured Taken: Crystalline growths. Where they are and how they play into the Tortured's unique abilities varies between each unit, but the universal idea is they live up to their title with these crystalline growths sprouting on their bodies that seem visibly harmful and unpleasant to the Taken in question, causing them to behave in a more volatile and erratic fashion with more outwardly destructive abilities like that Crystal for the Echo, I wanted to not only make it more interesting and varied than the in-game Echo that literally does nothing but fire the same shot and occasionally cast an AOE blast while also not using the exact same one from Switzerland. Needless to say it took a fairly heavy Dark Souls inspiration with the extreme, outgoing sword-strikes, but it's actually _less _deadly than the single-Cleaver one from Switzerland that'll be getting its spotlight later on.

As for the small snippet in Africa this chapter, aside from showing where it goes next, there's something I want to ask that's being perfectly honest: What characters are grabbing people's attention, and what do people want to learn more on? I tried to _really _dig into how Exos are depicted in this story with this chapter, so I hope that goes well, but beyond that, I'm just slightly perpetually concerned because I don't know what characters are "Throw-away" in the reader opinion that people couldn't care less about, and which ones I've successfully dug into people with. Might just be because I've been looking at how to revise the flaming pile of garbage that is my Halo story, and anyone who's seen much on Halo 4/5's story knows that, Halo 5 especially, that one's…..quite the doozy. Granted I've heard people say Brian Reed's pretty bad anyway, but my concern is more with: Am I any better? I want to pull a Bioware and dig into people's hearts with these characters, not pull a Brian Reed and have them be characters that everyone's like "Who?" in three months. Granted, to truly stoop to his level, I'd need to, like, have Oryx get whimsically taken out by a swinging I-Beam to the face or something if Jul 'Mdama in Halo 5 is any indication…

So, that's my small moment of weakness as I ask what curiosities people want sated about the different characters, which speaking of, I'm _really _excited for the next chapter because I can _finally _deliver on the requests for more Cabal. I've been seeing it for so many chapters now, plenty of people asking about the Cabal, and every single time I want to just blurt out what I had in store, and now I can _finally _deliver on it, the big faction that'll be the Cabal equivalent to the Suns and allow _way _more Cabal interaction in the story. It's the one painful part about writing a story chapter-by-chapter and alternating between this and other stories of mine: Refraining from telling people more than just "It's coming" so you don't spoil anything is like holding in a sneeze or something.

Speaking of characters, I threw in the bit on the Dreadnaught to do more of what I said before: Showing Oryx as more than just an angry monster. His backstory has little edges of internal conflict in it, and his one line spoken in a not-angry voice ("No, gather them. I will take them all.") makes him sound like _such _a methodical, think-it-through type of character (Which, as it turns out, he's inquisitive at heart, which fits), and then for most of TTK he just yells and all that goes out the door, so I tried to almost dial it back with a small show of weakness to show that this internal conflict is still there, even if he doesn't want it to be. Also with that, the Warpriest is getting a _much _more important role in the TTK plot here beyond just a single boss fight. The main reason I chose the duality of glorious warrior/scholar is because of his name: Warpriest. Priests aren't typically associated with being field-leaders or other forms of combatants, so I thought it was an interesting contrast, and wanted to bring that to his character: He's an in-field leader and a fighter, but also an analytical scholar testing and probing for how to fix a glaring problem (The Larvae's growing hunger) at his King's request. Whether or not he succeeds is a whole other matter, though, but his continued efforts to "Tame the Worm" as you could call it will play some direct roles much later on. Oh, and finally, about the Warpriest stabbing Oryx: It was both a nod to Sav killing Auryx (Just using that name because that's what he was called at the time, consistency and all) for showing weakness, as well as a play at the "Extremism" of old God-figures in things like Greek mythology.

A lot of times in those forms of literature, characters seem to do things by intense extremes and act as if it's nothing, so with the Hive high-ups like Oryx almost being a pantheon of gods, I wanted to bring that same extremism (So in this case, Oryx telling the Warpriest to stab him in the ribs if he begins to stray) to the Hive gods, especially with them being technically deathless unless killed in their Ascendant Realms.


	17. Sea of the Disavowed

Chapter 17: Sea of the Disavowed

_Over the sea around the Greek island of Chios, 1AM….._

Completely unsure of what awaited them, Fireteam Komodo's usually-swift, usually-easy landing would, for once, be stuck in a moderate predicament as their Jumpships slowed down, holding off not too far from the island over concern about the anomaly at best floating nearby, among other things.

"Well then…does everyone want the _slightly _confusing news, or the _really _confusing news first?" Caldwell's Ghost asked across their group-comms, the Fireteam having held off so he could assess the situation from the safety of the air for a short time. Caldwell's ship even having broken off from the formation at one point to get a closer fly-by before returning, the fact that the news was weird and weirder both intrigued and concerned them.

"Let's start with the less weird news, work our way up here a bit." Carwyn suggested, his attention primarily locked on the curious sight of entire cities dotted across the southern half of the island. None going incredibly high up, with nothing even remotely touching the title of a skyscraper, the short, wide cityscapes were brightly lit with various hues of yellow, seeming like an active, alive community on a thought-to-be-desolate island. And sure enough, more info on that was what Caldwell's Ghost had up first.

"Well, for the _less _weird news, I'm picking up radio signals _all _across the island. Fallen, Human, even Cabal signals bouncing around, and the Fallen and Human ones are on the same frequency….like devices from both sides are being used to talk to each other. The Cabal ones are completely separate, but still sending and receiving locally, which brings me to the weirder news:" Caldwell's Ghost explained, bringing attention to the gigantic floating structure in the water, which resembled a floating Cabal Carrier of supersized proportions. "That giant ship floating off the coast? It seems like it's some sort of amphibious-capable Super-Carrier. _Way _bigger than any Carrier we've seen so far, and loaded with enough guns to tear us out of the sky in the blink of an eye, and yet…..they're not firing. Even from here, they could send all of us crashing into the sea _right _now with a few guided missiles or something of the sort, or send one of the Harvesters deploying out through the top to come engage us, and yet they're just….._not doing that_."

"Off-hours? Even Space Turtles have to sleep at _some _point." Sivala joked, knowing the honest answer would be the ship was most likely staffed in shifts to stay ever-alert for threats. Having agreed to come with for this Chios run, the weird nature of things so far was making for a pleasant Calm Before the Storm, the Storm being one of Crota's closest confidants before the prince was killed.

"Not possible….I'm seeing active patrols flying to and from the ship as we speak, as well as plenty of comm-chat going between small sources on the ground and the Carrier, probably in-field squads radioing in to Home Base. _Why_, however, is where things fall apart…I'm not seeing any gunfire near the populated areas, which means the Cabal must be looking for something. Something completely irrelevant from whatever humans or Fallen might be down there. I hate to make this risk, but if we haven't been shot down yet, I think it's safe to go in closer and touch down….let's land on the _outskirts _of the giant stone city though. _Just _in-case the locals aren't friendly." Caldwell's Ghost suggested, only saving the off-hand 'this is a bad idea' comments since everyone knew and silently agreed to the sentiment as it stood. Going in anyway, the grouping of Jumpships flew in close over an expansive, clear, half-circle-shaped beach that regrettably had _immensely _superior ground not far off in the form of a long, high, flat stone wall at the back, closing the beach in. Transmatting gently onto the white sand, even Riksis' thunderous feet landed softly in the sand, giving them at least a moderate element of surprise.

"Watch for any kind of snipers….and hey, if we die on this beach because this really _was _a bad idea, at least we can say we died on clean, white sand. Silver linings, right?" Merikh morbidly joked, trying to find _anything _to laugh at because of how his fears were currently compounded: He hated and feared the Hive, and was admittedly _terrified _by the thought of what giant creatures could live inside the ocean, so to land him right on a beach that bordered the ocean, and more specifically an ocean potentially containing a close associate of the Son of Oryx somewhere in its depths was effectively putting him in the closest thing you'd get to his own perfectly-constructed Hell. Drawing his Tamar-D Sniper Rifle to see if he could spot anything, closer inspection of the high, stone ridge at the back edge of the beach revealed multiple strange guard posts and other fortifications. Looking like they were made of unimpressive steel plates welded and bolted together into tall guard towers and fortified ramparts, the strange part was the legs of the towers, the masts of the short-range comm systems, and the casings of the inactive spotlights mounted on some of the towers. All of those aspects possessing the distinct Fallen style of rounded, curved armor plating supplemented by thin, skeletal, spiky black framework, it was even _further _reinforcing the idea that someone was appropriating both styles into a hybrid-setup.

"Merikh, from a Titan to a Twig, you need to figure out a better way of pacifyin' your fears at times like this. Just sayin'." Barrett jabbed in a non-hostile manner, not liking how well the sand masked their footsteps. Not liking it for the reason that it could just as easily mask someone _else's _footsteps, Barrett took note of where the other two Titans, Carwyn and Sivala, were standing in the group and tried to move outwards a bit, forming a sort of perimeter-guard in the event of an ambush. Currently carrying his Zarinaea-D Auto Rifle, Barrett only didn't switch to his equally-new Cúchulainn-D Shotgun for the very-real possibility that, if an attack were to happen, it'd probably come from up on the ridge.

"I don't see why he's so worried…it's only the Hive after all. The race that uses dark, incalculable magic and mysterious rituals to further the will of their dark gods and corrupt the very minds and souls of most men, even some Guardians. In fact, wasn't Dredgen Yor a Hunter?" Niro teased, making sure to say 'most' and not 'all' since he was living proof to the contrary of blanket-stating that all men fell to the Hive. Slowly advancing up the beach, Caldwell was on-point in the front of the wide, spaced-out group, aiming his Tuonela SR-4 Scout Rifle, which still had the front-covering attached, in a similar manner to Merikh and his sniper.

"Niro, remember who vouched for you to get you _into _the Fireteam in the first place. And besides, there's _nothing _wrong with being cautious when we're right on the territory of a faction like the Hive. Like you said, they're dark creatures with dark ways. Doesn't hurt to be…._ready_…sometimes." Merikh tried to defend, not realizing how fast his weak coverup would be smashed to bits until he felt a light tap on his back. Turning around, Merikh found himself staring down a tri-pattern of three glowing green eyes, the eyes being so close he could hardly make out the rest of what's around it. Immediately yelling aloud and swinging with the stock of his sniper rifle, Merikh's scream wasn't effeminate or embarrassing, but still perfectly conveyed the fact that he was more than just 'being cautious'. Smacking the source of the glowing lights, Merikh's mini heart-attack was put to an end when he stopped and observed the situation, realizing it was just Komo holding up a Mask of the Third Man helmet right behind his head when he turned around. Thankfully just gun-butting the helmet and not Komo, Merikh may have lost his dignity for the time being, but at least he wouldn't be losing any limbs along with it.

"Right…just being cautious." Komo chuckled, her Ghost trans-matting the helmet back into her inventory as they continued to march across the beach. Getting relatively close to the rock-wall, Merikh's yell of surprise seemed to wake up the locals, all the previously-inactive floodlights Merikh had spotted kicking on and bathing the entire beach in bright light. Holding their ground to not risk instigating a hail of gunfire, things took a strangely docile turn as a combination of humans in Hunter-like gear and, bizarrely, Fallen clad in House of Kings colors began to descend the carved-stone staircase that was seemingly part _of _the rock wall, almost like the rest had been carved back around it to enable its existence as a firm structure. Their guns raised, said guns being a mix of Shrapnel Launchers and Morass-AR4 Auto Rifles, with some of the Fallen oddly carrying Auto Rifles and some of the humans carrying Shrapnel Launchers, their guns weren't aimed at the Fireteam. Aiming up and past them, the group seemed to be scanning around, looking for something else entirely that they weren't finding. The one Captain in the group raising his upper left hand and calling an all-clear, the fluency with which the two species moved together was _immensely _confusing, even for a Fireteam like Komodo.

"You alright? We saw you coming in, and you looked friendly, but then we heard someone scream and we thought the Hive might've set after you…..which of you ladies was it?" A human male dressed in full Sinaa Lamprey 1.0 armor and a Cloak of Keen Eyes, but not radiating any sense of Light asked, gesturing to the likes of Komo, Alvara, and Sivala. Everyone within the Fireteam able to feel Merikh's pride sink even further at the question, Caldwell at least spared the Hunter in _some _regard, ignoring that topic in favor of a more important one.

"Whoever screamed is irrelevant, what we care more about right now is…why are humans and Fallen working together here?" Caldwell inquired, letting his rifle hang by his side as his left hand pulled the human's pointing arm down a bit.

"It'd take a while to give you the full story, but the short-form version is one of your Guardians helped bridge the gap a bit. Some woman named Phoenix, real big Fallen enthusiast that helped us talk with the Kings who got stuck here. We started working together out of necessity against the Vex, and eventually, we just kinda came to like each other. Found it was _much _easier to survive together too." The human explained, curiously reinforcing that he wasn't a Guardian.

"You said 'Your Guardians' like you _aren't _one…..did a Guardian happen to give you that armor too?" Merikh pointed out, finding it strange that the man visually passed perfectly as a Guardian himself, even if an amateur one. Not seeming offended or threatened, the man was actually comically oblivious.

"Yeah, actually. A few other Guardians have stopped by here and there, one-off loners who don't work with the City very much. Wandering Warlock scholars and drifting Hunters mostly, and one of 'em gave me some of his old armor to use! Called it 'Useless Blue Junk', whatever that means." The man explained, completely unaware that his armor was the kind of second-rate junk Hunters tore apart en-masse to improve the armor they actually _did _like. Deciding it wasn't worth bursting the man's bubble, Merikh relented to the middle of the group, only sighing in disappointment and shaking his head slightly. All the Guardians finding it equally pitiful, and the non-Guardians having no idea what it meant, it took the pseudo-Hunter speaking up again to carry things forward. "So…what brought you guys here? The sights?"

"We're here for a powerful Hive creature, a close associate of Crota that we believe came here after his master died. We also….bear with me here…_we think he's at the bottom of the ocean._ Near the island. You wouldn't happen to have any, er…..diving equipment or anything of the sort, would you?" Alvara answered, knowing that Caldwell, a big tinkerer and tweaker of guns, armor, and other modifiable objects, was probably still too embarrassed on the pseudo-Hunter's behalf to speak. Worried she'd look crazy, the entire group of humans and Fallen almost looked _relieved_, like they'd met their saviors or something.

"Finally, some Guardians that are here to _help_. Forgive the abrasiveness, but most of you Guardians that come through just pop in for your own selfish reasons and leave, you're the first group to actually _help_ with something. We don't personally have any means of getting deep under the water, but the Cabal might. They claim they're here for the Vex, but the Vex haven't been seen here in nearly a month….I don't know why they're sticking around, but they're so one-track-minded on the Vex that they don't attack us. We've even traded with them before, so if you track some down without attacking them, maybe you can talk them into helping." The Fallen Captain in the group, carrying a Auto Rifle explained, answering one question and posing another: _The Cabal aren't attacking these people because they only want the Vex, but why are they so single-minded?_

"Any idea where we can find some? Any…frequent hotspots they turn up at?" The Stranger spoke up, usually hiding in the back of the group at times like this. Looking like the Captain was trying to draw up a list of spots in his head, the Captain's train of thought, and the calmness of the moment, were simultaneously broken by the eruption of gunfire nearby. Sounding just explosive enough to be Slug Rifles and Heavy Slug Throwers firing off, it seemed like the Cabal were closer than they anticipated.

"That sounds like them….better hurry after them, the Hive here have been getting relentless lately. If they're dug in, it'll take _quite _a bit to make the Hive back off." The Captain directed, stepping off to the side and gesturing for the Fireteam to storm up the staircase. "We personally need to stay and watch the beachfront, but you're welcome into the city any time. If the guards give you trouble, just ask for Soriks. No matter how suspicious they are, if I trust you, they'll let you in."

Not feeling like they had any time to waste, Caldwell gave the Captain, evidently named Soriks, a quick pat on the shoulder before issuing a silent head-jerk for his Fireteam to follow up the staircase. Going in a single-file line, the largest members, Riksis and Midas, decided to linger at the back of the group in order to not hold up the rest of them as they stormed up, finding themselves staring out at an expansive, hilly landscape covered in tall grass. The high-wall, ramshackle borders of this Fallen/Human settlement off to their immediate right, the night-time setting made it immensely easy for them to see the muzzle flashes erupting a few hills over, the occasional Boomer round soaring through the air further confirming it was a Hive engagement. Wasting little time, the Fireteam carried on, not stopping their awkward shamble up and down the hills until they reached the top of a hill overlooking the battle. Everyone crawling to prone as best they could, Riksis and Midas simply watched their backs due to Riksis' size and Midas' reflective, golden chassis.

"I don't recognize the colors….interestingly, their pattern matches the Siege Dancers, but otherwise, they're completely different….and _really _have a thing for the Vex it seems." Merikh's Ghost analyzed, indirectly seeing what Merikh saw as the Hunter scoped the battle out with his sniper. Not having any actual cover, the small team of Cabal, comprised of four Phalanxes, eight Legionaries, a single Decurio, two Psions, and an Imperial Colossus, were simply holding their ground back to back, the Phalanxes trying to provide cover for the Psions while the Colossus and Legionaries simply tanked the Shredder bolts striking their armor. Only starting to wince and shrink back when a Boomer round landed near them, the already bright scene erupted into an even brighter spectacle when a Cleaver-wielding Knight tried to charge the Colossus. Said Imperial Colossus firing up the flamethrower mounted to his Heavy Slug Thrower, the spectacle was an intense, thick cloud of fire that effectively swallowed up the Knight as it quickly roasted to death.

"Right….let's hope they're friendly. I've got _far _too many combustible elements on my armor to get in front of _that_." Kyra hoped, referring to the Titan Mark-like cloth hanging off her hip, as well as her fur-collar that, on top of being big, would be a fire hazard _right _next to her head if it got lit up. Strangely feeling some water drop on her head, some other members of the prone-laying Fireteam seemed to feel it too, nearly everyone rolling over or otherwise trying to look up and see what caused it. A putrid, sulphuric smell hanging over them as well, the culprit seemed to be a dark blue Tombship. Oddly having come in without the screeching tear in space they usually did, the Tombship was dripping wet and covered in sea detritus, bits of seaweed and even barnacles visible on the sides of its flat top-section. Flying past the dug-in Cabal, the Tombship dropped off _more _Hive just a small ways off, still visible to both the Cabal and the hiding Fireteam. Almost as if to force Caldwell's hand, one of the Hive that got dropped was an Ogre, which reduced the Cabal's survival chance _drastically_.

"This is a _bad _idea, but….Carwyn, can you project a Ward of Dawn right now?" Caldwell asked, feeling like he was working with Merikh for _far _too long because of this idea. Looking at his leader somewhat sideways, literally cocking his head to the side slightly, Carwyn played along regardless.

"I can put one down right now…._what are you thinking here, boss?_" Carwyn asked with a slight worry in his voice, not reassured by Caldwell's own admittance that it was a bad idea.

"Those Cabal aren't going to live on their own, and if we stick up here on the high ground, they're probably going to feel threatened by it. We all run down in tandem, spread out and attack the Hive, and during that, you get between the Cabal and throw down a Ward to give the Psions and some of the Legionaries something to hide in. If we're lucky, that Soriks person'll be right and they won't shoot us." Caldwell explained, hoping Midas' chassis was too outlandishly different from most Vex for the Cabal to open fire on sight. Taking a deep breath, Caldwell closed his eyes to preemptively curse himself if this failed before yelling 'Now!' and leading a charge down the hill. Alarming both sides in the conflict below, Carwyn's bold move saved them from being perforated as the Colossus began to turn his Slug Thrower on them. Sprinting headlong into the aimed weapon, Carwyn slid right by the Colossus, arms enveloped in a purple glow as he projected a Ward of Dawn around the Cabal group. Not big enough to fit them all, the flimsier Psions quickly realized what Carwyn was doing, frantically chattering in their weird, light voices in perceived excitement at the assistance.

The Colossus continuing to hold fire, it was initially to get a bearing on Carwyn, but was now out of confusion at Carwyn's aid as the Titan just carried on. Yelling an order at his men, the Colossus seemed to call for no fire on the Guardians, the other Cabal in the group now shooting around or otherwise ignoring the Fireteam. The Hive force being nothing but Knights and Acolytes, said Knights and Acolytes were clad in dark blue armor randomly dotted with various sea detritus like the Tombship was, making for a new Sect in the books. Wielding the traditional weapon-types used by the Hive, Caldwell was only concerned for the Cabal due to the high quantity of Boomers being used, ten out of the twenty-four Hive surrounding them carrying Boomers. Letting the rest of his team rip loose while Carwyn deployed his Ward, letting such a loosely-organized bag of crazy free upon the Hive was the saving grace of this plan.

Scattering every-which way to attack the Hive, said Hive were primarily grouped into three sections on three sides of the Cabal, the fourth side having been where the hill on which Komodo was perched is located. Hurling a Lightning Grenade into a sizable collection of Knights, Airada unintentionally gave a cue for _more _lightning to follow, Sivala and Barrett both shoulder-charging into what remained of the Knights. Sivala bowling one right over on impact, the short Titan took the Knight to the floor before standing up, bracing her boot on his head and perforating said head with her SUROS ARI-45 Auto-Rifle. Barrett similarly subduing a Knight on impact, Barrett's shoulder-charge outright dusted the Knight, the Titan simply walking through the ash and falling remnants to blast a second Knight in the head with his shotgun.

Hearing a seismic tremor fire off, a disintegrating Acolyte was neatly catapulted between the Warlock and two Titans, bringing their attention to the scattered mess of nearby Hive after Riksis put his foot down, literally. Having done it to get some room around the lone Ogre, said Ogre was already well underway to dying, Komo-49 ducking and bobbing between its hands to distract it while Alvara, fired-up Arc Blade in hand, clung to its back and stabbed wildly. Kyra even sliding in to hack at the Ogre's knees with her Shock Blades, the third crowd of Hive was being dealt with just as easily. Midas actually exhibiting a more defensive role, the golden Manticore had his gun by his side, instead projecting a thinner, more Riot-like shield from his left forearm, behind which Merikh, Caldwell, and the Stranger were peeking out to kill Knights with their Sniper, Scout, and Pulse Rifle, respectively. The Ogre being the last to go down, things were slightly tense as the Fireteam turned back to the Cabal, who were very specifically aiming at Midas. Dialing up the radial translation to include a Ghost's decent knowledge of the Cabal language, Caldwell's Ghost prepared for the worst in the coming negotiation.

"I don't know who you are, where you came from, or why you're here, but what I _certainly _want to know is why you have a Vex with you." The Colossus asked, his Slug Thrower barrels audibly spinning, but not firing. The rest of his team also leveling their guns on Midas, they didn't seem to care about the rest of the Fireteam, backing up Soriks' statements about them being one-track in nature. Finally able to take a closer look at them, the rest of the Fireteam realized what Merikh's Ghost said earlier about the Cabal's armor. The pattern looking like a palette swap of the Siege Dancers, the blue was instead a chromed, dark reflective purple while the yellow was instead a midnight black color. Seeming like standard-fare for a new Division, the strange part was the hammered brass bits throughout some bits of their armor, various caps, bolts, locks, and even some small chunks of the main armor plating looking like they were made from bits of melted-down Hezen Corrective Vex. Even the guns having some small brass bits, such as some of the bolts on their Slug Rifles or one of the barrels on the Colossus' Slug Thrower, the Phalanxes were the most blatantly obvious offenders, their shields having pieces of Vex such as the fan-shaped head, arms, and a fanned-out torso strapped to the front of their shields.

"Not _all_ Vex are antisocial walking calculators with an insanely intense perfection-complex, alright? Some of them are…..well, he's still a walking calculator with a perfection-complex, but at least he's not a _dick about it_. So, how about you stop spinning up your barrels, and we talk about things in a…_civil _manner? Rather than at friggin' gunpoint?" Airada unexpectedly took point with her gun put away and both hands up at head level with palms open, some of the Fireteam feeling like she tried and failed to effectively defend Midas without flubbing her point. Lowering his Slug Thrower, Airada wasn't sure if she was an amazing persuader, or just bafflingly weird enough to confuse the hell out of another species entirely.

"Hm…are all your women this….._forthright_….in their approach?" The Colossus asked, oddly well-spoken compared to what they expected. Airada's head recoiling a tiny bit in surprise, the Warlock had a funny feeling she knew what it meant, but asked anyway.

"Forthright….the hell does he mean by forthright?" Airada asked, more wondering on why the Colossus used that word with hesitation rather than its actual meaning.

"I believe he's calling you a bitch." Midas bluntly clarified, having gone through an extensive scan of human terminology and slang in his free time to add to his collective knowledge. Putting it to use, Midas had no inclination against Airada, he was simply stating his observation in a straightforward and honest, albeit blunt and tactless manner. Looking at Midas, the sneering annoyance was hidden by Airada's helmet, even though she knew he was just acting like an honest, walking computer.

"Well that's mean….." Airada said offhand, more to herself. Not expecting anything to be done about it, much to her dismay, Midas _did _do something about it.

"Oh, I'm sorry: I believe he's calling you a B**ch. Is that better?" Midas rectified, emitting a censoring bleep over bitch this time to make it 'less mean'. Midas obviously displaying a capacity for sarcasm, Airada didn't hold a grudge, as she cared more about nobody getting perforated by the angry Space Turtle with the minigun just in front of them. Deciding to end it himself, Midas stepped forward, bracing his left foot on top of the Colossus' Repeater before the latter could do anything. The rest of the Cabal team tensing up, Midas kept his gun at his side, which in turn kept the Cabal from firing on him. "More to the point: Do you know why you haven't shot me yet?"

"Ehrm….no, I don't. But I'm slightly more inclined now that-" The Colossus started to retort, being cut off as Midas interrupted him, bringing his single, vertical-slit glowing optic in close to the Colossus' face more and more as he spoke.

"Exactly, you don't know. You didn't know non-hostile Vex existed. You didn't know we were coming. You probably didn't even know the Hive were going to ambush you, and you _certainly _didn't know I was going to step on your gun. There's _much _you don't know, so how can you know for sure that shooting me is the wise idea? How do you know we don't have something to offer you? A problem of yours we can solve? _You. Don't. __**Know.**_So I'd advise you to take a step back and think before you shoot, or else you might be shooting a potential ally." Midas calmly berated, latching onto a tiny admittance and turning it into a psychological self-question for the Colossus. Forcibly jerking his gun out from under Midas' foot, the Colossus seemed annoyed, yet willing to acknowledge he was outsmarted.

"For a Vex, you make a convincing argument…..we can take you to see our Primus, but you come to him. That means you go on _our _ship, populated by _our _men, and the meeting is arranged on _our _standards. We'll be taking your guns when we get aboard, and assuming you don't make us kill you, you'll get them back when you leave. As for niceties, so you have a name to call me by, I'm Valus Kru'aurc of the Servo Flayers….not like it means much." Kru'aurc introduced himself, his followup comment sounding like a loathing admittance of sorts. Turning his attention immediately next to calling for a Harvester pickup, the team waited until their pickup arrived to make further inquiries.

_Not much later, inside the Cabal Supercarrier Xaphan Exsul I…_

Their Harvester dropship descending through one of multiple topside bay-doors on the Supercarrier, the dropship came to rest in an expansive, relatively uncluttered hangar-like room of the ship. Easily big enough to fit multiple Goliath tanks, the landing-area was oddly roofed in, a design feature that made more sense when various members of Komodo looked up. Seeing an expansive metal framework of tracks above them, these tracks neatly held and guided Harvester dropships around, effortlessly shuffling them off to other parts of the Supercarrier like storage or resupply/repair without wasting fuel. A small crew of grey Psions storming by with what could most easily be described as an industrial-sized floating tray, it seemed to be for them.

"Drop your weapons on there. Like I said, you'll get 'em back when we're done." Kru'aurc directed, one of the Psions tugging at the barrel region of his Slug Thrower. Waving his open-palmed free hand slightly in a 'no' gesture, the Psion relented, making it seem like this was a standard procedure that he was refusing for once. Most of his team throwing their Slug Rifles on there too, the process was probably a standard-issue gun-claim for repairs and cleaning that Kru'aurc was ignoring this once. Abiding by the command, the entire Fireteam dumped their myriad of weapons on the cart, including the melee weapons like Kyra's Shock Blades or the Hunters' knives. Just as hastily pushing the levitating cart away, the Psions were slowly and lazily followed by the rest of Kru'aurc's team, leaving him and him alone to lead Komodo a different direction. "If you're wondering about the color-difference, those Psions are Engineer-class. They run the real meat of the ship, making sure our ships are properly fueled, cataloguing what we need and what we have, monitoring electrical and other systems for the various parts of the ship like Hydroponics, Nursery, Med-Bay, all that; and repairing our guns and armor. The ones you Guardians probably shoot on a daily basis are the Combat-Psychics, actually field-experienced and well-trained Psions. Engineers can shoot, but they're not as experienced in it as the Combat-Psychics."

"Wait, a…..nursery? You have _kids _on here?" Sivala asked, completely blowing past the rest of his info and getting right to the strangest, most baffling aspect of it all. Sighing deeply, Kru'aurc didn't seem to like this explanation, but gave it anyway as they stepped into what a human would consider an industrial-level freight elevator. Having plenty of room for them, even the giants like Riksis, it was most likely for the presumably massive Primus, as well as being able to fit more than a single squad per elevator ride.

"To understand that, I need to explain something else: The Servo Flayers are….well, the official designation is a 'Volunteer Division', but the truth is we're the cast-outs. We're mostly made of the Imperial flunk-outs that didn't perform well enough to classify in any of the 'Real' Divisions like the Sand Eaters, let alone Sky Burners, Blind Legion, any of that. Only reason we have such a massive ship is it's our _only _ship. We don't have any Carriers, just one giant mega-Carrier to hold us all inside it, and it's the one handout we got. Only time we get actual ammo or gun replenishment is when one of the 'Real' Divisions finds they have too much and can afford to give a hand-me-out to the other guys. And troops? We have to rely on the fresh blood back home screwing up so bad that even the _Sand Eaters _don't want them for us to get real backup, so we've got a Nursery along with female troops that pitch in every so often to try and help keep our numbers up. It's unconventional, and far from the best strategy, but the silver lining is there's a good chance they'll come out better than the ones we get from other Divisions." Kru'aurc explained, putting to light why their armor was so custom: They were so bottom of the bin in terms of importance, the chain of command probably didn't _care _what they did to their armor. "Because we don't have a steady stream of supplies, some of our Psions have taken up learning how to smelt and shape Vex chassis into what we need. Ammo casings, replacement gun parts, replacement bolts, armor plating, all that. It melts at a manageable temperature and is sturdy when it hardens up again, so it works well enough for us."

"So…whats your guys' purpose? If you've got such a giant ship and aren't just shot for being outcasts, you've gotta have _something _to do, right? Suicide mission maybe?" Carwyn asked, finding it odd that such a harshly imperial species like the Cabal didn't just execute failures. The elevator coming to a stop, the large, metal doors slid back to reveal a high-ceiling, albeit more hallway-like straight-path that broke off to the left and right. Incredibly flat, dark grey on the interior with equally flat panels, there was little in the way of frilly details or lively decorations, just glowing signs in the Cabal language indicating what was in which direction and what each room was. The floors even being dull, no-nonsense in design, while the Flayers' armor was customized and visually distinctive, their ship was no different in coloration from any small Carrier. Following the Valus left, they started to see some of the other duties on this ship. A few Legionaries seated on crates in a set-in, open-air workshop-like area on their right, more of those grey Engineer Psions were crowded around them, pulling the Cabals' singed, split armor plates off like a pit crew. Some more removed armor plates being smoothed over and supplemented with chunks of Vex plating where needed, it was heavily implied this kind of place was where the rest of Kru'aurc's team went.

"Our purpose is the complete and total annihilation of the Vex. They appeared on a planet called Ikholos, one we'd taken over completely and settled a civilian population on. Sizable population, beautiful tropical planet fit for natural Cabal survival, and the Vex tore it to the ground. Everyone there was either dead or left the planet, and the Vex turned the planet into _metal_. Like some kind of giant machine…..we obliterated the whole planet, but after that, the Emperor found a cheap alternative to wasting money on executing us failures: Capitalize on the people's demand for blood against the Vex by sending us to hunt them all down. We don't study them, we don't capture them, alive at least; we just shoot them. Everyone knows how limitless the Vex's potential numbers are, but that's the point: Either we'll achieve the impossible and kill them all, or they'll kill us cost-free. Either way, the Emperor wins. We actually call this ship The Emperor's Bin, because it's where he tosses all his trash that he can't be bothered to think about. Thankfully we've gotten lucky, because by the same reason we were formed, some Blind Legion among other Divisions joined willingly in order to take the fight to the Vex, but it's not a frequent enough occurrence to rely on. Helps in training the new guys when you've got a top-tier warrior like a Blind Legion around, but it's not gonna sustain us in the long run." Kru'aurc explained, showing why they were so distinctly hostile to Midas earlier. Thinking back on Kru'aurc's declaration of his name earlier, Barrett was the questioning one for once, noticing an interesting similarity.

"Wait, you said your name's Kru'aurc? You wouldn't happen to have any association with a Valus Ta'aurc, would you?" Barrett wondered, having been stumped on where he heard the 'aurc before. Sagging his shoulders, this seemed like another Nursery-style 'odd topic' for Kru'aurc.

"Yeah, he was my brother….he was always the overachiever, got where he wanted through being the boldest, dumbest, craziest leader in the room. Did you know his rapid expansion on Mars wasn't sanctioned at first? The Primus got a direct order from the Emperor to not waste Siege Dancers resources on a blind, fumbling expansion across a newly-discovered planet, and Ta'aurc rounded up all his companions who disagreed with the Emperor, stole a Land Tank, and marched on the city you humans call Freehold. They started by breaking into your underground transport systems, and systematically swept through the network to overtake Freehold. By the time the Primus could properly inform the Emperor of Ta'aurc's treason, he had already swept over Freehold and was moving on to the rest of Meridian Bay. The Emperor was so impressed by it, he had the Primus booted and Ta'aurc was given control of the Siege Dancers. That Primus, funny enough, ended up getting booted here, and you're gonna meet him soon." Kru'aurc explained, giving the Guardians of Komodo a funny feeling this Primus wasn't losing sleep at night over Ta'aurc's death. Also noting some similarities between the two, while Kru'aurc had the typical Imperial Colossus armor unlike Ta'aurc's normal-Colossus-like armor plating, they both had the dual-flag-mounting on their backs. A dark purple flag, the logo was fairly basic, being a simple, black representation of a Goblin's head with a trio of purple Cabal symbols in a vertical line down the Goblin's fan-like forehead.

Coming to an indistinct door, it was clear this was an arranged meeting in a less critical spot of the ship, probably to keep the Guardians from trashing ship-critical controls or hurting pilots if they turned on the Flayers. Having a high ceiling, it was one of the maintenance bays for the Division's vehicles, containing plenty of open space dotted by inactive Harvesters and Goliaths. Plenty of smaller machinery set around these vehicles, the Engineer Psions working tirelessly on them added to Kru'aurc's mention of how critical those Psions were. More to their attention, seated on some long, rectangular crates set around an otherwise clear corner of the room, probably a landing-mat for another Harvester, was the Primus. Backed up by two Imperial Centurions and a unique Decurio, their primary focus was on the Primus. Having a similar color-pattern and matching armor to Primus Sha'aul, the primary difference was black instead of white, and a dark, non-reflective purple instead of yellow for the armor colors. One of his two back-mounted decorative fans being slightly shorter in one spot, the crisped edges of it made it seem like the Primus had seen some firsthand combat in the armor, possibly being a field-leader.

"So you're the Guardians that claimed they can help me…..here to help us with our Hive problem? The name is Primus Sha'oen, if that helps you speak up sooner." The Primus asked, being similarly massive to other Primuses they'd seen. Standing a good 13' tall in terms of his actual height, the Primus' back-mounted fans punched his silhouette's height up to a whopping 17' or so, making him shorter or taller than Riksis by 2', depending on whether you calculated Sha'oen's height by his head or the top of his fans. Unarmed, the Primus was leaning forward while seated on a large crate with both forearms resting on his knees, almost daring the Guardians to try something on him.

"We're here to kill a powerful Hive creature that we believe has dug himself in at the bottom of the ocean on the other side of the island. If you know any way we can get down there, we can kill him on our own. You don't need to commit any troops, just help us find a way down there." Caldwell reasoned, easily trusted as the best reasoner of the group and most qualified to negotiate. Stoic in his position, the Primus gave no tells as to whether he was laughing inside or impressed.

"We've been dealing with Hive emerging from the ocean on that side of the island for a while now, and the Vex seemed to disappear right around when the Hive started to appear, so it might be connected…I would just pull my men out with the Vex gone, but because of the Hive's hostility, we can't leave. We don't abandon a fight, no matter who it is. We were just going to drop a high-payload warhead down into the ocean and call it done, but if you want to save us the ammo, I know a way to get you down there." Sha'oen explained, making the Guardians of the group have a synchronized heart-drop.

"Please do….I'll even get some scuba gear and just swim down there myself if it means _not _wiping this island off the map." Sivala nearly pleaded in agreement, highly afraid to ask what was a high-payload warhead by _Cabal _standards. Everyone noticing how Merikh-like the scuba comment was, it was a sliver of emergent behavior that would probably haunt the both of them for a while to come.

"Well, this isn't in the official records, but a trio of Psion Flayers went missing from the Blind Legion, and the entire Empire's been searching up and down looking for them. Official story is they got lost somewhere on Venus, crash-landed a Harvester and are dead or wandering with no way off the planet. The _real _story is we caught their Harvester's automated distress blip before they cut it, snatched them up, and convinced them on simple conditions: They work for us, we play dumb and don't tell the other Divisions we went anywhere near Venus. These three brothers are the ones who pulled one of Mars' moons out of its alignment, so based on that, I think it's safe to say they can create an air pocket large enough for you all to walk down to whatever rift these Hive are coming out of. To ensure you don't collaborate with the Hive using whatever knowledge you've gained in walking on our ship, I'll be sending one of my Valuses to follow you down there, and in return, you'll leave a few of your people here with us. Is that workable for you?" Primus Sha'oen asked, setting out the plan for them.

"If you're certain those Flayers can get us down there, we'll do it. We'll leave three of our people here, unarmed, and they'll abide by your rules while the rest of us go down to fight the Hive. If I might ask though, who are you sending to watch us?" Caldwell wondered, not feeling like he had very much room to make demands or force the Primus into compromises.

"Kudac will go with you. She's small enough to not block any doorways, but strong enough to handle the bigger Hive units. If you have any close-range-specialized members, she'll work well with them." Sha'oen answered, moving his left hand to gesture to the unique Decurio sitting on another crate. Standing 6'4", the Decurio Kudac's armor mostly looked like any other Decurio's armor, which largely came down to sized-up Psion armor with Legionary right shoulder-like shoulder armor strapped up with a few ammo pouches, hard-armor forearms, a belt of small pouches, and the typical Cabal seatbelt-looking belts they all wore. With more armored legs than a Psion, the distinguishing elements of Kudac's primarily black, purple-accented armor were the Flayer-like purple energy-weaves in the shape of a long, ankle-reaching, illuminated loincloth in the front and back. Also having a hammered brass left kneepad, a near-totally brass right shoulderpad, and brass coverings on the backs of her armored fingers, Kudac wasn't the living brick house a 'big' Cabal like a Legionary was, but was still prominently thick-built enough in the shoulders, thighs, and arms to look scarier than a normal Psion. Carrying one of the typical Decurio shotguns, which their Ghosts had found in their off-time to be called Flak Rifles, that and the 12" ceremonial dagger contained in a sheath on her lower back confirmed Sha'oen's claims that she'd work well with the likes of Barrett.

"You sure you can stand up the Hive in close-quarters? Those Cleavers hurt just a _bit _more than a Vex's palm-blast or a Minotaur's forearm." Barrett prodded, testing the tag-along for how she behaved. Having gotten up to walk closer to them, the Decurio's first move was strangely to grab Barrett's forearm, the suction-like slam of her fingers coming together hinting at something else being in play.

"I think you'll find I can be _quite_ stubborn…" Kudac almost bantered back, Barrett trying to jerk his arm away, even pulling towards her thumb in what _should _be a weak spot for a grip. Finding no luck, he quickly realized the Decurio had activated her magnetic gloves, which had latched onto his armor plating and stuck to it like glue. Firmly grabbing her outstretched arm with his other hand, Barrett pulled back, doing so hard enough to wrench her grip free without damaging her arm.

"Well, that makes two of us then." Barrett retorted with an undeniable sound of respect in his voice, liking the thought of a CQC specialist with some spine to them. Letting Kudac fall in line with the rest of the group, Kru'aurc moved to join his Primus in Kudac's spot, indicating the point where the Fireteam should pick who stays.

"Right….to put the Primus at ease, Riksis, Sivala, and I will stay. Merikh, you get to lead the Fireteam on this run, being you're technically the second-in-command of the Fireteam." Caldwell declared, metaphorically hitting Merikh in the stomach. Keeping his professionalism up, Merikh did so by _professionally _asking _**What the hell are you thinking?!**_

"Uhm, Caldwell….are you _sure _you want to do that? Me? Lead a team into the depths of a Hive stronghold? You couldn't at least let me keep Sivala and, I dunno, take Barrett instead? Or better yet, take Carwyn! All he does is sit in the back and pop bubbles all day!" Merikh pleaded, using 'pop bubbles' as a derogatory reference to Carwyn's Ward of Dawn. Almost in disbelief that he actually _asked _to have Sivala around, it nonetheless would put him at ease given they killed Crota together, so it would be a sensible pick for killing Crota's right-hand man. Hearing Carwyn take offense to that in what would probably be a more confrontational manner, the Defender kept it to just a 'Hey!' to prevent Squad Infighting since they were right in front of the Primus.

"You'll be fine….Barrett, if Merikh really can't handle leading the team down there, you get control. Does that make you feel better, Merikh?" Caldwell offered, noticably patronizing Merikh as a sort of light insult. Not having any valid, further objections, Merikh relented, knowing he wasn't going to win this respectably.

"Don't worry Merikh, you'll be fine…..I appreciate you wanting to have me around though." Sivala thanked, wrapping her left arm around his stomach from the right side before quickly giving him a tight, one-armed hug, just to unsettle him more before she, Caldwell, and Riksis walked over to join the Primus. Nobody else having any comments, it was on the Primus to move things forward.

"If our plan's in order, then Kudac will lead all of you back up and to the Harvester that will take you ashore. The Flayers will meet you in the hangar before you depart, and you'll get your guns back there too, but do remember: Keep Kudac and the Flayers alive. On top of keeping in my good graces by not getting them killed, Kudac will be the one person able to radio us and let us know you succeeded, and you'll probably need the Flayers to get back _out _of that rift too. And above all else, come back victorious, or don't come back at all." Primus Sha'oen nearly threatened in a calm, smooth manner, stating it like understood facts rather than threats. Not in a position to question or object, Merikh instead nodded, turning to follow as Kudac led them out.

Author's Note:

As some might've noticed, I skimmed on the fighting greatly save for one small bit midway through the chapter. I did this both to more directly and in-depth explain the Servo Flayers and get many of the big questions out of the way, as well as to address the fact that, for the past few chapters, DinoGuy2000 kept repeatedly mentioning how action-ey they were, so I felt like I was running that a little too much. As such, I devoted this to be a more "Exposition-ey" chapter for setting the groundwork on what is basically the Cabal equivalent of the House of the Sun in terms of how Fireteam Komodo will deal with them. As for the design of the Division themselves, they're designed as being very driven, pushy, and aggressive. Whereas the other Divisions dig in and hold territory, these guys are the cannon fodder you send in before the people who matter, so they live on their giant Supercarrier migrating from place to place where they're most actively needed or told to go. Not having the steady resources to maintain defensive positions, they instead deploy en-masse from wherever they can (Hence the amphibious-capable Supercarrier, which was actually inspired by real-life American aircraft carriers and other large military naval-craft) and try to sledgehammer the enemy into submission so to speak.

As for their colors, the choice in such dark colors as black and dark purple was because I noticed something about Cabal armor, and developed a theory from it: The "Special" Cabal Divisions like the Siege Dancers and the Sky Burners have really bright, prominent, expressive colors, especially the Siege Dancers, and Primus Sha'aul has an overall light, bright color-scheme of white and yellow, with the Prison bosses sharing his model still having yellow in their armor, a bright color. If I recall, some animals in real life have plumes or otherwise bright colors on them to indicate dominance, as well as basically any deadly frog around being brightly colored, so I started to think these Divisions might have brighter color schemes to indicate importance or dominance over other Divisions, and maybe even within a Division, like with how the Blind Legion Colossi are bright white rather than black or the Blind Legion Centurions have bright red highlights. Because the Servo Flayers are the "Throw-aways", they have an all-dark color scheme to signify reduced importance in the greater chain of command. In addition, the concept of the Engineer Psions, and especially their pit-crew approach to dealing with the Legionary armor was actually inspired by a bit of concept art for the Cabal, which depicted nearly the same thing, so I wanted to pull it back into Destiny rather than just being art. You can easily find it on Destinypedia at the bottom of the basic Cabal page.

Going further on that, the name of their Supercarrier isn't some hodged-up nonsense: Xaphan is the name of a demon with a reputation for being inventive, which goes along with the Servo Flayers' inventiveness in getting around their resource and troop-count problems, especially smelting Vex plating to make replacement armor and gun parts. And Exsul, much like how Vae from Cerberus Vae III is Latin, is the Latin word for outcast, exile, etc., which fits with them being the rejects and bottom-of-the-bin thrown in here so they'll solve a massive problem or die trying. And even the I has a reason: Because that specific ship is the only one of its kind, and the only one the Servo Flayers have. No other Supercarriers, no normal Carriers, no smaller ships like the Dantalion the Sky Burners crashed into the Dreadnaught, _just _the Xaphan Exilus I. In terms of musical inspirations for their concept, the sole inspiration for the longest time, and a very perfect one for capturing their attitude, was No Sudden Movement by Five Finger Death Punch. Sadly it's not on Youtube, but you can listen to the brief iTunes preview if you _really _want to hear it without buying it, or you can go listen to Hell to Pay by Miracle of Sound on Youtube, which despite coming out just the other day, still fits immensely well.

Another tie to Hell to Pay is it fits _very _well with how Kudac, the last member of Komodo, operates in combat. Whereas Kyra is a terrain-climbing long/short range fighter who snipes or cuts enemies in key points with her Shock Blades, Kudac uses an explosive shotgun, mag-gloves, and a ceremonial dagger along with her strength to more complement Barrett: Get in their face, and then cave that face in. As such, whereas Kyra's CQC is about precise cuts and slashes, Kudac's melee-game is "Step 1: Grab. Step 2: Pull.", making her a bit more DoomGuy-like by comparison, something that'll make an immense amount of sense when you see Hell to Pay's video. In regards to the Hive, I somewhat breezed over them to save for next chapter, as this was about finally expanding on the Cabal. Next chapter, those blue, aquatic Hive'll get their spotlight, along with their domain near Chios.

Finally, about the small bit dropped in there in regards to kids aboard the ship, that idea started after noticing this passage in the Grimoire Card "Ghost Fragment: Cabal 3" in the normal Cabal section: "Today, Primus Ta'aun leads from the front. He pounds from bunker to bunker, roaring encouragement. "You're my cornerstone!" he tells a wounded Centurion, grabber her by her armored shoulders.". Do I need to point it out? _Her. A Centurion. _Something written into the legitimate Grimoire and not by me, which means either whoever writes them mucked up and wrote her instead of his, or female military-serving Cabal is a legitimate thing. Maybe we've been shooting them somewhere in the mix this whole time and just never noticed because they look and sound _exactly _the same as the males like the Fallen Baronesses do (Still think that was a cop-out design move), but the fact that it still hasn't been changed this long after release led me to think it's true, so I figured it made the Servo Flayers' methods of keeping their numbers up permissible rather than out of the blue. I would've probably snuck something in there about them walking by one-such nursery to toy around with what little Cabal look like, but after the conversation with me and the others about what that would look like _quickly _devolved into "Looking like a cross between Peter Dinklage and The Rock, only uglier", I figured it would be safer to just skirt by that bit until I got some reader feedback. It was _definitely _worth a good laugh, but I'd rather wait and see if anyone else is laughing too before I commit to it.

Phoenix-7 created and owned by The Assassin's mentor


	18. Into the Pit

Chapter 18: Into the Pit

_At the beach where Komodo first landed, Island of Chios, Greece…_

With the Psion Flayer trio in tow, the modified Fireteam waited on the beach as said Flayers discussed how to effect their entry into the water. Not too hung up on watching them, Merikh, who was quietly standing by further back on the beach, got a surprising heart-to-heart question from the last person he ever expected.

"You're awfully quiet…feeling good about this?" Komo asked, getting right up next to him with a startling lack of noise. His shoulders only slightly rising in surprise as he looked over his right shoulder at her, Merikh didn't have the slightest clue why she chose to speak to him of all people, but nonetheless, he obliged it.

"Feeling good about this? _Hell no…._truth is I'm downright _terrified _thinking about what we'll find down there. I'm just keeping it to myself since a whiny, scared leader is about as useful as one who doesn't speak the same language as those he's leading. I know I come off as a bit…_direct _at times…." Merikh started to try and explain as Komo threw her claw-gloved left arm across his shoulder-line, getting oddly friendly here. Searching for the right words to use, Merikh was unfortunately cut off by a painful, yet true interruption on Komo's part.

"_Direct? _Is that what they call being a cynical dick where you're from?" Komo chuckled, the statement obviously being a jab, albeit a friendly one much like most of Merikh's save for some rare occasions like the 'popping bubbles' joke back on the Supercarrier. His shoulders sagging somewhat, Merikh was obviously not happy about it, but nonetheless, he knew she wasn't lying.

"You're _still _hung up on that tongue comment, aren't you?" Merikh asked as he looked directly at Komo's head, the fact that both his Celestial Nighthawk helmet and her three-eyed, black Bog Wild helmet were on meaning eye contact effectively had no impact here. Komo's body language not indicating any hostility, the matter seemed to have transitioned more into the realm of a joking 'Not gonna let you live that down' rather than something that would make her want to slug him every time they saw each other.

"_Yep._" Komo wholesale admitted, turning her left hand in to flick the left side of Merikh's helmet with her pointer finger. Somewhat leaning on him as she crossed her left shin diagonally against the back of her right shin, the tip of her left boot touching the sand, Merikh was fairly certain she was being so comfortable _just _to bother him further. "But, in all seriousness, I think you'll be fine…..what has you so hung up on this though? You had no issue protesting the idea of Caldwell staying behind when he first suggested it, so why the change of heart?"

"Because, after thinking about it on the ride out here, I started to think back on a _lot _of things. Me protesting taking leadership of the squad, that dying on white sand crack first time we were on this beach…..hell, even the fact that I had Alvara recruited just because I _liked _her. Caldwell's such an immovable, quiet, intelligent leader, and I'm…..some wise-ass crack-shot who lets his childhood fears dominate his ability to take leadership of a team. Guardians are meant to be the shining light in the dark, like Jaren Ward was for me, and like this? I'm no shining light, just a flickering match that gets a nice little flare-up every now and then." Merikh opened up a bit, showing he didn't _revel _in who he was, at least the negative aspects like his fear of the Hive. Rather, he knew it was a problem, and was striving to try and fix it as best he could. Pulling a surprise move, Komo knocked Merikh's hood back before pulling his helmet off, the tall Hunter not wanting to start a fight as he turned to face her directly.

"Improving leadership qualities and all is good, but don't take it _too _far….I don't remember Jaren Ward having such a standout personality, or being as good looking. In all honesty, you seem more like a Pahanin Errata than a Jaren Ward to me, just a bit less weird." Komo explained as she held his helmet under her right armpit like a soccer ball, her left arm having pulled away from his shoulder-line to instead lightly hang over his right cheek. Taking care to not poke him in the eyes with her clawed fingers, the soft-hearted moment was interrupted when, seemingly from nowhere, the Exo Stranger stepped up off to Merikh's left.

"She's right. Trying to change who you are as a person will hardly work, and would only serve to hurt everyone involved. Conquering your fears, however, will achieve a great deal, and I'm sure everyone here will have your back in the coming fight." The Exo Stranger agreed, making it sound like she was listening in to this conversation. Judging by how Komo cocked her head at a diagonal, however, it seemed to Merikh like neither of them were aware she was listening.

"So, did you want to speak to me too and just overheard by chance, or do you _enjoy _randomly lurking on people's conversations and popping up unannounced?" Merikh asked, admittedly somewhat creeped out by the thought that she could've just…._been there _without him having the slightest idea. Closing her eyes, the Stranger shook her head lightly to the left and right, seeming like she had already given up.

"I tried….perhaps you'll have better luck tolerating him." The Stranger borderline quit, walking away to join the Flayers near the beach's edge.

"So….you think she's _always _that weak-willed? Or am I just a special case for her?" Merikh wondered, admittedly surprised by how fast the Stranger just dropped the topic entirely and walked off. Handing Merikh's helmet back to him, Komo's departing words, while not contradicting her earlier point, still reminded Merikh of who he really was.

"Remember when I compared you to Pahanin? Calling yourself a special case is putting it _lightly _sometimes." Komo semi-jabbed, semi-teased as Merikh's helmet was passed from her hands to his. The Exo Nightstalker walking off afterwards, Merikh took a second to continue standing there, alone, on the back area of the dark beach as he gazed at the front of his own helmet in his hands. Running through all the serious problems in his head in his own little self-assessment, anyone inside his head would know he was seriously thinking on what Komo and the Stranger had said, but anyone on the outside would only hear:

"_At least I don't have a documented love of fuckin' squids._" Merikh mumbled to himself before he put his helmet on and pulled the hood back up, feeling like he wasn't _quite _as much of a character as Pahanin was. Finally walking down to join the rest of the team, everyone was standing in a somewhat tight circle around the Flayers, waiting for them to work their magic. Similar in appearance to the three documented Flayers encountered in the Dust Palace, the primary differences were the black and chrome-purple coloration similar to all other Servo Flayers Cabal troops, as well as subtle armor differences between the three of them. Not knowing them by name, Merikh decided to try and make friends with their fourth tag-along in hopes that she could fill him in. Coming up on Kudac from behind, Merikh made sure to step into her left-side peripheral vision before he started talking, lest she twitch-react and gut-check him with her fist on pure instinct. "So, no offense, but uh…..how do you tell those three apart?"

"The elements they manipulate, along with how they act…..Kudra, the purple-glowing one, manipulates Void rifts like a short-distance teleporter. Doesn't work very far at all, but even if it's just popping from one end of a room to the other, it still confuses the enemy enough to be useful. He's pretty twitchy, hyper-observant, and is nearly impossible to sneak up on. If I'm being honest here, we really don't know if he was born that way, or if jumping through so many Void rifts has _slightly _broken his brain." Kudac explained, referring to the left-most of the three Flayers, whose helmet-lights were humming a dark purple color. Only holding his Slug Rifle with his right hand, Kudra's left hand fingers were constantly in motion, just moving up and down while his stance constantly shifted, even if it was just a light repositioning of the feet, and his head frequently turned to look in some obscene direction mid-conversation. Almost like a docile Thrall in a way, Merikh could see where Kudac's uncertainty was coming from, as it was hard to tell if Kudra was hyper-intelligent to the point of hyperactive brain functionality, or just missing a few screws.

"Well, if Voidwalkers are anything to go by, it's probably the latter of the two." Merikh joked, mostly to himself since he knew Kudac wouldn't understand it. Paying closer attention to the armor, one big difference from the Dust Palace Flayers' armor that he spotted was an extended 'neck-cover' stretching off the back of the helmet, right behind the odd horseshoe-like upward protrusion that both these three and the Dust Palace Flayers have. This neck-cover not seeming too terribly ornate, its presence in general still gave Merikh the feeling that it denoted a higher rank or threat level in these three compared to the Dust Palace Flayers, which was backed up by Kudra's odd teleportation ability.

"Next of the three, with the orange lights and the loincloth like me is Jurach. He can't do anything absurd like shoot jets of fire from his hands, but he _can _cause localized pyrokinetic eruptions in the floor, wherever he wants them to appear. It has to be within a somewhat short distance, but he doesn't need to touch the point of eruption for it to happen there, so he's _very _good at flushing out embedded enemies. And no, he's _not _highly irritable by nature. If anything, he might come off that way simply because he gets furiously sick of being asked that so often." Kudac described, referring to the next in line of the three. Seeming slightly bigger than Kudra, Jurach had the same armor as Kudra, including the neck-cover, with the main difference being the orange lights, as well as Kudra having back-mounted 'strips' of energy like the Dust Palace trio, whereas Jurach's 'strips' were on the front and back of his belt-line, humming a deep orange and reaching his feet. True to Kudac's claims, Jurach was currently sitting in a low squat, forearms resting on his knees as he patiently sat and discussed, which was a _far _cry from the absurdly twitchy Kudra.

"Still doubt he's very friendly…..and the blue one?" Merikh figured, not trusting the calm on Jurach's outside.

"That's Turan, the eldest of the three and the de-facto leader between the three of them. They all report to me, but when deciding amongst themselves, Turan's got the big vote. Thankfully he's easily the most calm, usually sits more towards the back and uses the electric barrier-walls he conjures to hide and take pot-shots. And if something gets close? One flick of the wrist and he can discharge the whole thing into a single bolt, right into whatever might have the misfortune to be directly in front of him. And like Sha'oen said, the three of them are literal blood-brothers. Kudra's the youngest, then Jurach in the middle, and Turan's big brother by a few years. Kudra may be hyperactive, but when Turan speaks, he listens." Kudac rounded out for the three descriptions, feeling it went without saying that Turan's cyan blue combo of Kudra's back-strips and Jurach's loincloth-strips cemented his place as the big boy of the three from a visual angle. Also having a distinctly more hammered brass-colored left gauntlet compared to his brothers, it was possibly for conductivity's sake to help him cast his barriers easier.

"At least one of them seems friendly…..also, one of them's named Kudra? Any relation to your name?" Merikh pointed out, finding the Kudac/Kudra similarity quite strange. Even stranger, though, was Turan's gun, which looked like a Slug Rifle with an extended fore-end, a longer, brass-colored vented barrel shroud, and no diagonal magazine well. Instead, it was a straight, more conventionally human-like one with a large box-mag attached to the bottom. Topped off with an actual optic and an underslung bayonet, Turan's gun kept up with Kudac's claims that he preferred to sit back and take shots like a support gunner. Back to the topic at hand, Kudac's displeased sigh in response to the question told Merikh _immediately _that he struck something good.

"We Hybrids use modified Psion names, so in a sense, we partially share a name…me and Kudra aren't genetically related, just a similar name. So, yes, technically, I _do _have a man's name by Cabal standards. And yes, if you try and harp me on it as a seemingly innocent joke at random times, I _will _break that twig-spine of yours over my knee…..your Fallen friend told me you seem to find such running jokes amusing." Kudac explained, also preemptively saving herself the grief of Merikh's sarcasm. Normally not one to find such a threat to be serious, the fact that Kudac was a bigger, beefier pseudo-Psion who was literally part War Rhino meant she probably _could _snap his back over her knee, so to be safe, he took it as a serious warning. Trying to contemplate what he _could _say without incurring severe injuries to himself, Merikh's train of thought was interrupted once again on this beach by the last thing he would've wanted to see: The Hive.

_Walking out of the damned ocean, more specifically._

Everyone hearing the water disturbance at the beach's edge, gentle splashes in the water soon turned to animalistic roars and growls as a small team of these strange, blue-clad Hive literally walked out of the ocean and onto the beach. No Tombship, no strange Vex-like rift in spacetime, no crazy Pentagrams popping in hellspawn from seemingly nowhere, just a flat-out walk from below the water. The head of the group being a blue-clad Cavalier, the Knight off-shoot's glowing green eyes were matched by the glowing green spikes running along the top of his helmet, as well as lines of green Hive runes on the twin Cleavers he carried. One in each hand, the Cavalier's stoic stroll up from the water was calm and zombie-like at first, water dripping off every edge and crevice of his armor until his boot hit the sand, at which point the creature lunged forward in a sprint, aiming to take someone out.

Thankfully not Taken like the Cavaliers back in Vevey, Switzerland, it was still highly possible these were the specific Cavaliers Oryx was taking given their similar fighting styles. Possibly going for Niro first out of familiarity, the decrepit pseudo-Hive Guardian was quick to leap off to the right, avoiding a downward diagonal right-to-left slash from the Cavalier's right Cleaver. The edge of his robes being winged by a speedy horizontal followup swing from the left Cleaver, Niro got a bit of failed backup as Kyra tried to engage blade-to-blade with the Cavalier. Both Shock Blades in her upper hands, the Vandal went straight for a horizontal slash with her right blade, intending to clash against the Cavalier as it threw out its own right-armed horizontal slash. Kyra's blade being more vertical while the Cavalier's was more horizontal, the result was _massively _one-sided as Kyra's blade not only didn't hack through the Cleaver like she'd expected, the Vandal was also taken off her feet and thrown into a mini corkscrew-spin from the sheer force as she flopped on her face.

Getting a little bit of backup from Alvara, the Awoken Bladedancer opted for a safer approach, standing back and opening fire with her Zhalo while Niro and Kyra scrambled to their feet. The supporting fire getting somewhat more difficult to apply as Kyra went right back at the Cavalier, albeit with a bit more tact this time, Alvara opted to largely engage other targets instead, making sure to keep an eye on the Cavalier fight when she could. Knowing she couldn't handle an up-front attack, Kyra used similar tactics to what she tried on Skolas in Africa, ducking under another Cleaver swing before hacking at the Cavalier's right knee. Not doing enough damage to sever the shin or render the leg useless, it still seemed to _greatly _irritate the Cavalier as it growled in pain or frustration, now more vehemently looking to track Kyra's movements. Totally focused on murdering the Vandal, the Cavalier wasn't paying enough attention to its surroundings, blatantly missing the sight of Barrett running for its back. Going right for a shoulder-charge, things took a slight turn into a comedy of errors as Kyra, standing in front of the Cavalier, went for a straight gut stab with her right blade.

Kyra's blade puncturing the lighter armor around the Cavalier's stomach, the force of Barrett barreling into the Cavalier's back not only sped the process up, it massively chunked his shields out when, due to the blow, Kyra's blade was forced through enough to poke out the Cavalier's back and prick Barrett's charging shoulder. Completely killing his momentum, the Titan took a step back with his left hand covering his right shoulder while Kyra was once again thrown off her feet, this time by the kinetic transfer of Barrett's shoulder charge going through her blade and into her. Not helped by the Cavalier sharply bucking a few feet forward from the impact and effectively shoving her, the trend of repeated knockdowns was starting to pull on the Vandal's nerves.

"Lumbering brick…..you couldn't have gotten on my side _before _trying to crush this monster underfoot?" Kyra mumbled to herself, finding Barrett's tactic of charging from the _other _side of the Cavalier to be frustrating at best as she crawled to her feet once more. Now down to one blade, the Cavalier seemed winded and hurting, but still not giving up despite the actively electrified, crackling Shock Blade sticking through its abdomen. Oddly not wanting to drop one Cleaver and wrench the Shock Blade out, the Cavalier instead turned to more passive aggression, wincing and stumbling along while angrily swinging its Cleavers at whatever dared get near it. The Arc-Flayer Turan getting its attention with some gunfire from his strange Slug Rifle LMG, the large gun was loud and slow, chugging along at only around 500RPM. Making up for this with the power of its ammo, the weapon seemed to be firing larger, more powerful gyrojet rounds than the normal Slug Rifle, causing more prominent mini-explosions on impact that actually ripped small chunks of the Cavalier's external plate off.

Vastly irritated by the Flayer's gunfire, the Cavalier took a more direct approach despite its wounded state, turning and tossing its Cleaver right at the Flayer. Owning up to what Kudac claimed he could do, Turan was quick on the draw to conjure a see-through, rectangular barrier of Arc energy, which the Cleaver got properly lodged in. Stopping dead in the roughly door-and-a-half-sized Arc Barrier, the Cavalier stopped in confusion at the unexpected outcome, which left it perfectly lined up for Turan to swiftly bring his left arm down, dispelling the Arc energy. The Arc energy surrounding the Cleaver causing a form of acceleration similar to a low-power railgun, this transference of energy sent the Cleaver spinning at high speed right back to its owner, causing it to slam right into the Cavalier's head.

Making contact as the blade was on a downward rotation, it effectively caused the Cleaver to slam through the top of the Cavalier's head like someone gave it a downward vertical chop, a side-view of the Cavalier revealing that the blade was poking a good foot or so out the back of the Cavalier's head. Collapsing into dust, what remained of the Cavalier's head fell to the ground with the Cleaver still embedded, effectively immortalizing how this Cavalier was taken out. The two Knights and group of Acolytes that came with being taken out in relatively short order given their more reserved, held-back attack pattern compared to the Cavalier, the entire Fireteam regrouped on the Cavalier's remains once the fighting had stopped.

"You know, I have to wonder…did we ever find out _what _these Cavaliers are, exactly? I remember catching something about Thralls become Acolytes, Acolytes become Knights, and the Wizards are in there somewhere, but where do these off-shoots like the Marauders and Cavaliers come in? Some kind of stepping stone in-between?" Merikh pointed out, never having gotten any proper exposition from a Ghost about where these oddballs fit into the Hive's evolutionary 'path' so to speak. Grabbing one of the Cavalier's empty gauntlets, Merikh opted for a closer inspection as he waited for a reply, noticing more of the same sea-detritus as before. Everything from barnacles to tiny chunks of coral being present, things got even stranger when a tiny crab hardly the size of Merikh's finger skittered around on the gauntlet, indicating that even some tiny sea-life was taking up residence on these aquatic Hive.

"I haven't exactly had too much free time to investigate it _extensively _given our…._demanding _schedule lately, but what little bits I _could _derive, mostly from Toland's journal, is that these off-shoots so to speak seem to be specialized. Much like how a more conventional military would probably prioritize the soldiers with the best aim as designated marksmen, the Hive seem to do something similar with their Acolytes and Knights. The most outstandingly vicious, aggressive, bloodthirsty Acolytes seem to be guided on a slightly different evolutionary path into Marauders, and the most disciplined, decorated, effective Knights seem to be transitioned into Cavaliers. Judging by how they act, the Hive probably treat Cavaliers like the highest form of a crusader for the Sword Logic. All of them follow it, but the Cavaliers in particular seem to be the most decorated, fervent ones. I suppose calling them the long arm of Oryx might be a suitable way to put it." Niro explained, going half on his own conjecture, and half on Toland's conjecture in regards to the subject.

"And you figured all this…by reading Toland's book?" Merikh inquired, still _slightly _wary of Niro's Hive knowledge. Not so much so that he'd pull a gun on Niro out of nowhere, but still, the concern was undeniably there. Calmly approaching the Hunter, Niro put one hand gently on Merikh's shoulder, almost as if in consolation.

"Yes, actually…..believe it or not, but humanity's been discovering new things, solving problems, and making accurate predictions from reading for roughly as long as they've solved problems by shooting the problem instead. I'd suggest you try it, you might be surprised." Niro effectively insulted indirectly, patting Merikh on the shoulder before moving more to the back of the group. Feeling the burn from that comment, Merikh let it slip as he dropped the Cavalier's gauntlet, focusing more on the problem at hand.

"Right…..so, Turan was it? Do you and your brothers have a plan of some sort to get us down there?" Merikh diverted, turning his attention to the Arc-Flayer. Hoping the Ghost translations worked on more than just Kudac, the Hybrid was his fallback plan incase Turan's words sounded like light-voiced nonsense.

"Well, we already knew we'd be creating an air-pocket to step into the ocean, the only thing we needed to discuss was exactly _how_, but we feel we've got a method sorted out. Unfortunately, if there are more of these death-walkers in the water, and they engage, the three of us won't be able to help. When Sha'oen said you need to keep us alive, he meant it." Turan explained, latching his LMG onto his back and giving a hand-signal for his brothers to follow him down to the shore-line. The rest of the team following soon after, Merikh kept the closest pace with Turan, all to make one small retort.

"Just promise me that, if the bubble gives way, the collapsing pressure isn't gonna fire me up through the ocean like a bullet…the _last _way I'd want to be remembered is some sightseer on the wall of the settlement behind us seeing me fire up out of the water like some skinny, orange dolphin." Merikh joked, not expecting the morbid, accurate answer that he'd get.

"Actually, if the bubble were to give way, you'd probably sooner die in the depths of the cold, black ocean, feeling every bone and organ in your body being crushed flat under the immense pressure of the deep-sea floor as everything goes dark from the lightless depths of the water closing around you. Really depends on how far down we get." Kudra corrected, saying so not with a malicious tone, but rather with innocent, objective observation, like he didn't even _know _he was basically telling Merikh that the Hunter would die cold and alone under the immeasurable pressure of the ocean he was afraid to step in should the bubble give way. Effectively killing the discussion into an awkward silence without even noticing, the twitchy, youngest Flayer just carried on, following his two brothers as nobody dared follow up on the comment.

Letting the Flayers do their thing, the three got in a single-file line, Kudra in front, Jurach in the middle, and Turan in the back. Standing about three feet apart from one another, the three took a solid stance, their guns put away as they simultaneously raised their hands. A small, thunderous crack being heard, the three Psion Flayers kept their hands up, almost as if they were each holding an invisible object above their heads. A large, vaguely visible bubble having formed around them, it was difficult to tell against the dark backdrop of the night-time oceanside, but when it _could _be seen, it had a similar warping effect to heat distortion. Hesitant to step inside, the rest of the team did so regardless, which elicited some surprised reactions from some of the Ghosts.

"Interesting….it's _literally _a bubble of pure oxygen that we're standing in….if they can keep it up, it's basically like a bubble popping up in any smaller body of water, so it'll definitely get us down there. Just….don't take your helmet off, I don't know how a living creature, Guardian or not, would respond to 100% oxygen purity. All I know is it's better than getting crushed under the water." Merikh's Ghost analyzed, intrigued by the Flayers' capabilities. Making sure to say that on a radial speaker instead of just in Merikh's ear so individuals like Kyra heard it too, Niro didn't have any sort of sealed helmet, but given his status as alive or dead was in question, the oxygen purity probably wouldn't bother him anyway. With everyone safely inside the bubble, the trio of Flayers began their descent into the ocean, going slow in order to let everyone keep pace.

Swiftly seeing the effects of it, the water at the ocean's edge almost seemed to _part _when they got near, peeling off to the left and right, just at the edge of their bubble. Faint blue lines racing through the bubble, these lines made it easier to tell where the edges of the bubble were located, and were possibly related to how the water was peeling just around the edge of the bubble. Almost like a jumbo-form of bending water with static electricity, the substitution of Arc Energy in place of static electricity probably enabled the bubble to do what it did without harming anyone inside as they descended further and further.

"I'll admit, I'm starting to see why you'd be getting nightmares of this shit….going under the water almost sounded _fun_….now lookin' at it just kinda peel over the top of us is almost giving me shivers." Komo admitted to Merikh, watching as they got low enough that the water was gently, seamlessly coming over the top of their bubble, like some form of gentle envelopment. Hearing the squishy, muddy splashes of the soaked sand as they began literally walking on the ocean floor, a couple of the Fireteam's Ghosts popped up to give radial lighting, both so they could see each other, and so they could spot any other sea-dwelling Hive.

"Well hey, if you're scared…" Merikh trailed off, not having any actual implications in mind. Mostly saying it to make Komo wrack her brain guessing, the response was not only unexpected, it caused Merikh to wonder if this was some kind of secret 'Roast Merikh' day.

"If I'm scared _what?_ You want me to hold you close? Heh…saying that'll do anything is like saying grabbing hold of a weed will keep you safe in a wind-storm." Komo jabbed, just stacking another burn onto the already decent list of jokes Merikh's gotten at his expense today. And, as if to make it worse, Merikh's reply would bring out another one.

"Oh come on, _weeds? _Isn't that just a _bit _extreme of a comparison?" Merikh tried to appeal, feeling like calling him a weed was a bit much. Unfortunately, Komo had some actual logic to go with it.

"Not really…..you're just like 'em: You pop up unexpectedly, you probably grew real fast, and you're annoying as hell to get rid of sometimes." Komo explained, a friendly elbow-jab to the side of Merikh's stomach showing it was all in good fun, even if it was true. Letting even this jabbing analogy roll off his back, Merikh was more focused on not making a clown out of himself by tripping on seaweed or coral as the group descended deeper and deeper, trudging through wet sand as best they could in hopes of finding some sort of entryway or portal rift to lead them into the Hive's base of operations. Finding some odd, bony lumps in the sand ahead of them, at a glance through the illuminated water it seemed to be either random detritus or some kind of crustacean, but once their air-bubble passed over it, Komo gave it a good kick to be sure.

Getting some stiff resistance, the creature, which turned out to be a cobalt blue color, was actually a cobalt-blue Thrall buried face-down in the sand, almost as if in some on-knees, forward-laying position where the torso touched the top of the thighs. Waking the Thrall up so to speak, the coral-covered back of the Thrall was contrasted by a sea-junk-free front half, which was no different from any other Thrall aside from the cobalt blue coloration. Creaking and cracking as it rose out of the sand like some kind of zombie rising from its grave, the Thrall wasn't alone as a number of other, similarly-oriented Thralls all rose to their feet as well. Even plenty outside the bubble starting to rise, their movement within the water was like a slow, authoritative, upright gait with closed hands hanging free by their sides, which transitioned to the typical forward-hunching, screaming sprint once they reached the bubble.

Probably forced to slow-walk because of the weight of the water, some vague, glowing Hive runes present on every Thrall's forearms left the implication that _they _couldn't survive down here naturally either, and instead had the aid of a skilled Wizard. Possibly some sort of negation magic similar to the frozen sand back in the African desert, it _certainly _didn't do much for overall Thrall durability as Midas greeted the closest Thrall with a Vex-grade left straight punch, outright punching his long, thin Minotaur-style fingers through the Thrall's torso. Not really having enough bulk to be useful as a shield, the Thrall quickly collapsed to dust anyway as all the biggest, most immovable members of the team, such as Barrett and Carwyn, tried to body-block the Thralls. Their lives technically depending on making sure the Psion Flayers weren't attacked, the Manticore and two Titans were more focused on batting back the Thralls like a trio of goalies, letting the less physically imposing members like Niro or Merikh do the actual shooting.

Midas deciding to deploy his left-forearm-projected barrier in order to more effectively hold the Thralls back, one of the Thralls actually got a supportive boost by clambering over the back of its dying ally, leaping at Midas' barrier and clinging onto the front of it. Flicking his barrier upwards due to its fixed projection on his forearm, Midas effectively catapulted the Thrall over his head and behind him, creating a flying target for anyone with quick aim. Both Hunters turning their Hand Cannons to take it down, the marksmen were abruptly shut down and disappointed when their prey was disintegrated in a bright blue light show. Finding the culprit to be Airada, the blue-clad Stormcaller hardly even noticed both Hunters glaring at her in disappointment over the blatant kill-theft. Not lingering on it, a different set of problems literally arose as puffs of sand were being kicked up outside their bubble.

Not just looking like more Thralls, this fear was backed up by the sighting of rows of green spikes glowing in the water, which got even more prominent as pairs of Hive tri-eyes started to rise from the sand. Looking like spike-laden tails swishing in the water, the figures drew closer into the floodlights of the Fireteam's Ghosts, revealing themselves to be cobalt-blue Marauders. Completely unarmed, the Acolyte off-shoots hardly needed it given their green-glowing, sharp-tipped fingers. More like the claws on Komo's Sealed Ahamkara Grasps rather than unwieldy mauling claws like a Thrall, the glowing fingertips still left a foreboding feeling as the Marauders similarly lashed out with extreme ferocity. Going surprisingly fast compared to a normal Acolyte, one such Marauder was in a B-line for Barrett's throat, having come up just far enough off to the side of his focus to close the gap and succeed in getting a hold on the Titan.

About to jerk his arms outward in hopes of beating the Marauder back, the mutated Acolyte was instead ended as Barrett heard a loud, electrically humming buzz immediately left of his head. Sounding _absurdly _close, Barrett made sure to not actually turn his head lest he damage his helmet as he realized the buzz was coming from one of Kyra's Shock Blades. Having driven it _just _left of Barrett's head, the Vandal was going for a high-aimed headshot, driving the tip of her blade right between the Marauder's three eyes to stop its advance cold. Just as seamlessly pulling her blade straight back, Kyra left it at that, figuring the near-death experience was revenge enough for the shoulder-charging incident back on the shoreline. Barrett being equally disinterested in pursuing a grudge over the matter, the two silently went their different ways in the current fight, with Barrett being more interested in seeing where that bull-headed Hybrid, Kudac, was at.

Currently stuck in a 2-on-1 between 2 Marauders, things went _far _out of Kudac's favor for a moment as she tried to aim her shotgun on the Marauder in front, only to have the gun wrenched from her hands and flicked outside of the air bubble. The gun borderline exploding as all its components gave way under the deep-sea pressure, Kudac was technically left unarmed, and now having her arms restrained from behind by the second Marauder, and yet still, she had a way to pull out of it. Jumping as best she could, Kudac was more doing it to swing her legs forward, resting them on the shoulders of the Marauder in front before pinning her shins against its neck. Leaving the Marauder in front locked up and unable to maul her, it forced the Marauder behind her to let go for the sake of helping its ally. Causing Kudac to drop head-first into the sand, it was just as the Hybrid planned.

Letting go of the front Marauder's neck, Kudac pulled her legs in more effectively side-roll and get back on her feet, now off to the side of the Marauders with both of them in front of her. With no backside vulnerability to exploit, the Marauders instead opted for a dual-lunge, only to both be seized by the throat as Kudac met their charge with her own. Slamming the two Marauders into each other like a cymbal-clap, Kudac used this disorientation to divide and conquer, kicking the right Marauder in the stomach simply to remove it from the picture while she dealt with the left one. Exhibiting more tact than Barrett might've expected, Kudac opted for a proper, systematic destruction rather than wild kicking and stamping as she got hold of the Marauder's left arm. Holding the left arm straight out by gripping it at the wrist with her right hand, Kudac's left hand was on the Marauder's left shoulder as she jerked hard, sharply snapping the Marauder's arm backwards.

Breaking at the elbow, Kudac was using it as a painful distraction so she could more easily get behind the Marauder, both hands now grabbing the Marauder's head as her right foot slammed into its lower back. Going for heavy spinal damage, Kudac evidently got her wish as the sickening crack of the Marauder's back was followed up with said mutant Acolyte collapsing into dust. Hearing the second Marauder coming back for more, Kudac kept her right hand on what remained of the first Marauder's head, using the empty helmet-like carapace as a sort of club. Turning around fast, Kudac met the Marauder by literally thwacking it on the head with it's dead friend's head. Repeating this process another two times, Kudac followed the third strike up with a leg-sweep, sending the Marauder onto its back.

The Marauder trying to kick and drive Kudac back so it could properly get up, Kudac dropped the dead Marauder's helmet in order to grab the still-living-one's left leg mid-kick. Holding the shin with both hands, Kudac once again put her feet to good use, stomping on the Marauder's left thigh in order to break the leg at the knee, much like how she broke the last Marauder's arm. Once again providing a pain-distraction to lower the Marauder's guard, Kudac quickly dropped to one knee, bracing her left knee on the Marauder's stomach in order to more effectively deliver a killing blow to the head. Simply using her fist, the large-Cabal side of her genetics _really _started to come out as she effectively punched _through _the Marauder's head. Her fist going through the unarmored face of the Marauder like butter, whatever might've counted as Hive brain matter was already whispy dust coming off her armor by the time she pulled her fist out.

Now frustratingly unarmed, Kudac compensated by drawing her ceremonial dagger, only to find Niro and Carwyn had mopped up the last of the Marauders. Almost looking disappointed in a way, Kudac seemed to have a bit of an adrenaline rush burning and no Hive to take it out on, leaving her to just sit there and simmer as the group carried on. Seeing it as a good opportunity to break some of the ice between their factions, Barrett moved to walk in line with the Hybrid.

"Hey, I saw your shotgun get busted up in the water…want one of mine for now?" Barrett suggested, being more blatantly honest and lacking in metaphors than Kudac initially expected.

"And what kind of a nonsensical, poorly timed, ill-executed pass is that supposed to-…." Kudac started to chastise, stopping dead in her sentence when Barrett's Ghost pulled a Häkke Jingukogo-D shotgun from his inventory, depositing it into Barrett's left hand. Holding it out for Kudac to take, the Hybrid was almost at a loss for words. "Oh…..you were being literal. Hm…..sure….my only concern is reserve ammo, as I don't have whatever munitions your guns typically shoot on-hand."

"Eh, as long as it properly fits, and doesn't have _too _much of a blast, it should work just fine…I've heard of non-City settlers defending themselves from Fallen and Hive by firing shells loaded with _nails _out of their shotguns, so even your gyrojet rounds should work if you're doing it just this once. Could probably screw the barrel over in the long run, but I doubt you even have enough ammo on you to do that in just one sitting." Barrett estimated, Kudac gently taking the gun and getting a feel for it. Pulling the pump back, Kudac didn't realize the gun was already loaded, causing an unfired 12g shell to flick itself out the side of the gun. Immediately snapping her right hand out to snatch up the shell, the reaction time did a great job of impressing the Titan. "Damn…..you always that quick?"

"It's the Psion side in me, really jerky, lightning-quick, good reflexes…..don't mistake it though: If Turan flings a dagger at me with his mind, I'd sooner impale my hand on the blade than I would expertly catch it, but a slow-moving object like this…..shell you called it? Toss one of these at me within a reasonable distance and I could probably catch it just fine. The speed of the object is what makes or breaks it really….that and I don't really have the _best _reaction time with things outside my vision. If I see it coming or know a threat is coming back after I push it away, I can pre-empt it perfectly fine, but out-of-nowhere surprise attacks still get me just like they would a larger Cabal." Kudac explained, finishing racking the shotgun before loading the unexpended shell back into it. Knowing it was good and ready to fire now, Kudac was admittedly intrigued by Barrett's willingness to inquire about her, as well as the courtesy of giving her a spare gun. "So…what's the caveat here? Does this gun not work? Is it rigged to blow after a certain number of shots?"

"I take it that paranoia's also the Psion in you…nothing's rigged with it, it's just a brand new shotgun I got off of Caldwell, my boss so to speak. One of our City's gun foundries, Häkke, sent a couple of us some free guns as part of some gift-reward for everything we're doin' so far, helping the Awoken out in the Reef and all that. Caldwell's got some kinda aversion to their guns, not sure why, so he handed the guns he got over to me, said I could do whatever I want with 'em. Break 'em apart, sell 'em, whatever I please since he didn't want 'em, so…I'm giving it to you. If anything goes wrong with that gun, it's on Häkke making a shitty gun, not me sabotaging you." Barrett explained, having never heard the story of Caldwell's pre-Guardian moment of 'heroism' at the Häkke factory on Europa. Taking it as an acceptable story, Kudac didn't question further on the matter as the group still kept descending, finding no more Hive randomly hidden in the sand. Coming to a sort of flat plain under the water, the place was uniformly designed, with mirrored ridges cut into the coral like a series of rectangular bays on the ground.

"What _is _this? Some kind of….landing pad maybe?" Merikh's Ghost suggested, noticing some of the rectangles were slight bumps in the ground, while others were pits that extended a decent ways down. Almost as if to prove it, one of these slight bump-looking rectangles emitted a small blast of air outwards, almost like an equilibration of pressure between the sea and whatever was below them. A few seconds going by, the water seemed to be rushing into the ground around this rectangle on the floor, followed by it rising up slightly. Continuing to ascend, the coral-topped, sea-detritus-covered rectangle turned out to be a _Tombship_, which was literally docked into the ground and blending in before it departed. Completely uncaring of the Fireteam standing next to it, whoever or whatever guided the Tombships simply ignored them as it continued to ascend, most likely moving to deploy some more Hive somewhere on Chios.

Not daring to get closer lest they find themselves in an exitless docking bay with no hope of escape, the Fireteam instead took it as a sign that they were close, walking on down the middle of these docked Tombships in hopes of finding a proper entrance. Seeing a slight, green-glowing disturbance in the floor ahead of them, it looked somewhat promising as they approached.

"That looks about right…..some kind of rift that _should _take us into wherever these Hive are coming from. Unfortunately I don't _know _if this'll work, but it's not like we have many options…we're stuck at the bottom of the ocean in a giant air bubble, and we're not allowed back if we don't succeed, so…who wants to go first?" Merikh's Ghost figured, not really having any truths or lies he could tell to make anyone feel better. Looking among each other, the first candidate was a surprising one.

"I'll do it…..if there's a welcoming party, they'll be less likely to notice a Hunter than they would someone big like Midas." Merikh offered, volunteering himself as the first victim. Surprisingly eliciting some conflict, it wasn't even from someone he _knew _all that well.

"And what if there's a drop? I'm made of high-strength alloys and metals that could be thrown off a building and walk away without a limp, you're made of bone and squishy meat. Which do you think would fare better if there's some falling in there?" Komo reasoned, arguing for Merikh's safety despite their lack of an established friendship or relationship, be it personal or business-related.

"True, but _you _actually have someone you're with. _I don't._ I'd rather I take a fall than see Airada get bent out of shape because I let you get turned into a tin can…..and besides, what would you even do for me if there _is _a drop? Catch me?" Merikh chuckled, finding the idea preposterous. Unfortunately, Komo found it humorous.

"I mean…you _might as well have _jumped into my arms like a bride when you screamed like a bitch at my Third Man helmet back on the beach…." Komo figured, realizing she wasn't going to effectively persuade Merikh here. Completely killing Merikh's heroic sacrificial buzz, the tall Hunter simply placed his right hand on Komo's shoulder, looked downwards slightly, and gave the Exo Hunter's shoulder a quick pat to effectively say _Alright, you win this round_. Backing off and drawing his Hand Cannon, Merikh took a deep breath before running at the rift, hoping to simply run out the other side like any sci-fi teleporter ever. Instead, Merikh's forward momentum transitioned into _downward _momentum as his running swiftly turned into falling, just as Komo predicted. Thankfully not being a fatal fall, it was still _massively _unpleasant for the Hunter as he slammed on his right arm.

"Yeah, on second thought…..Midas should've gone first." Merikh groaned to himself as he rolled onto his back, seeing a high-ceiling, completely empty room, oddly not filled with angry Hive. Getting a moment of peace as he made sure his arm still worked, the devil Merikh spoke of happened to be the next one through. Falling through in the same manner, the golden Vex was no more graceful in his descent, leaving Merikh with a terrible fear that he was going to be flattened under Midas' bulk. Closing his eyes and preemptively cringing in expectation for a world of pain, a loud, resounding crash was heard, and yet Merikh didn't feel any blinding pain. Easing up and opening his eyes, Merikh found that Midas had landed just off to the Hunter's left, taking out some Hive-made pedestal on impact.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the near-heart-attacks came back as more members of the team also fell from the ceiling-mounted rift, first the Titans Barrett and Carwyn, then the Hunters Alvara and Komo, the latter of which, almost by comedic fate, landed right on Merikh. Heavily winding him, the irony of the moment wasn't lost on him.

"I know you made fun of me catching you, but I'll say….for a weed, you're a pretty soft landing." Komo jabbed, patting Merikh on the side of the head. Normally quick to think of a retaliation, Merikh had a jab about Komo's incredible weight ala being literally made of metal on the tip of his tongue, but because of the painful sensation from her Ahamkara-plated arms slamming into his gut on impact, it wasn't properly coming to mind. Instead resorting to some half-mumbled, sarcastic jab along the lines of 'Yeah, love you too…', Merikh was more focused on getting back on his feet, which was when he noticed a class-A example of Warlocks 'cheating'. Both Niro and Airada falling same as the rest, the two Warlocks didn't suffer the consequences, initiating their Glides to gently descend to the floor once they were within the last few feet of the drop.

Both having a gentle, soft touchdown, _far _from a thunderous crash like Midas', the Cabal element were rubbing it in Merikh's face too as Kudac used her Decurio-issued wingsuit to correct her fall and gently glide a short distance away. The three Psion Flayers being the last to come in given they held the bubble up, even they fared better, pulling a gentle descent during the last few feet like the Warlocks did. Not about to start a Hunter/Titan vs Warlock argument over their various powers, Merikh instead got to his feet and made sure everyone else did too, paying special attention to Midas.

"Hey, big guy….you alright? No chunks of Hive stone lodged in anything important?" Merikh asked, finding it odd that _Kyra _of all people was the first to join him in checking on Midas. Currently laying on his back, the large Minotaur-offshoot was alive and functioning despite obliterating the pedestal he landed on, gently and slowly pulling up into a sitting position.

"Core functionality is perfectly intact…..slight shell-layer damage, but the nanites can repair that within a few minutes." Midas assured, effectively saying he had the Vex equivalent of some light bruising, but nothing more serious than that. Turning onto his hands and knees in order to transition into on one knee, then standing, Midas' casual mentioning of nanites had Merikh's attention.

"Nanites? You've…..got a storage of little nano-bots or something?" Merikh inquired, not being aware of this previously. Not frustrated or inconvenienced by Merikh's inquiries like some of the other members, Midas simply answered honestly and directly.

"Indeed, multiple sub-compartments in my chassis hold storages of nano-bots that, on command, can resolve internal damage or repair shell-layer damages, including bullet indentations. They can't fabricate new plate to replace entirely lost chunks, and a severed limb would require proper, time-consuming maintenance to re-attach, but small dents, scratches, and lightly damaged systems or severed wires can be resolved in a matter of minutes so long as I have some breathing room, as you Guardians call it." Midas clarified, obviously speaking true on his word about minimal damage as he seemed to get up and walk with no obvious complications.

"Mend the scratches, or else the scratches turn to gashes, and the gashes turn to death….I like it." Kyra spoke to herself, citing some odd proverb that neither Merikh nor Midas recognized. Both looking at her sideways, it didn't take long for Kyra to cave under the pressure. "_What?!_….it's an old Fallen proverb from before the establishment of the Houses, basically saying to never disregard the small damages, or else they might grow and become a more deadly threat that ultimately kills you. Midas' nanites seem to serve that exact purpose, so I found it somewhat interesting that he shared the mentality. Don't we have something more…important we could focus on?"

"Right…..as for more important things, we're….._somewhere_, I'm frankly not sure _where _though. What I don't get is I'm still detecting our normal signals, but they're _incredibly _far off…and I don't mean the distance from Earth to Mars. Assuming the Hive aren't distorting my reception, I think we're in a different _galaxy _right now. I just hope we can just as easily find our way back after this is over…" Merikh's Ghost attempted to explain, still sorting out the details for himself too. This statement causing the rest of the team to take a look around, everyone started to notice a trend in the dark grey, smooth architecture. Not covered in that black slop that was all around the Hellmouth, this place looked more like a cathedral for established, developed Hive to gather and organize their efforts, rather than a living space for the dirt of the Hive as a race. If the Hellmouth was home, this was like a Forward Operating Base.

"Well, wherever we are, it looks like we're _still _underwater…..you think the Hive have a thing for water?" Airada observed, looking at the tall, cathedral-style windows that were shaped like a rectangle with a half-circle cap on the top. Not made of stained glass, or even stylized like it, they were instead simply clear, thick, yet slightly dirtied windows illuminated by glowing Hive crystals embedded into the frame around it on both sides of the glass. Not _totally _sure it was water at first, Airada's suspicion was confirmed quite quickly by the sighting of _some _sort of sea-life swimming around outside the glass, effectively confirming that they were _still_ under a damned ocean. Only slightly disheartening, everyone's attention gradually shifted next to the banners hanging from the walls, which were a similar cobalt blue color to the bodies of the Hive they met in getting here.

Almost looking like a grand entry hallway of sorts, the room they were in was a long, vaguely rectangular-shaped one with incremental, parallel inlets set into the left and right walls. Every other inlet having a flag hanging high within it, it alternated between a flag and a cathedral window, but every single one had a matching, jagged pedestal placed on the floor. Each pedestal draped in a similar, dark blue fabric to the banners, these rectangular-shaped pedestal-covers were, rather than a logo, imprinted with small, white lines and dashes similar to what's present on a Cavalier's hip-mounted, Titan-style mark. Getting an idea, Merikh's Ghost went right to the drape that was placed on the smashed pedestal where Midas first landed, giving it a quick scan to see what it had to say.

"Interesting…seems our new friends are known as the Teeth of Vurlok. Seems they're led by their namesake, a Knight named Vurlok, the Ravenous, who 'won his glory during the War Unto the Deep', where it seems he led his troops in the last successful siege before the creation of the Taken. At least, assuming this bit about 'the God's Chosen' that were created during the next conflict is talking about the Taken. If I'm understanding this right, this is a purely combat-dedicated Sect focused on the subversion and destruction of defenses through aquatic siege…sounds like they were formed out of necessity to destroy a sea-dwelling race, and just found a good spot in Oryx's bag of tricks from there." Merikh's Ghost analyzed, having flown to different pedestal-covers to see if he could piece together a bigger story here.

"Anything in there on where we are? Maybe….even a _name _of this place? I know we can't leave until we kill Nikthar, but if we can at least put this place on the Vanguard's books with an official name, it might be easier to catch reference of it in other Hive texts we find in the future." Carwyn pointed out, taking a sensible, forethought-heavy approach to his reasoning.

"Well, I'm seeing two names…it seems like the _official _name is Aen Muhrak, but plenty of these texts just call it 'The Citadel'….you think the Vex will want to talk with them about that?" Merikh's Ghost joked, sincerely doubting the Vex truly cared about conflictingly similar names. "Still no idea on what planet we're on though…..I'm just going to have to log our current location and see if the Warlocks can cross-reference it with a Golden Age starmap later."

Putting that conversation to rest, the tone was alarmingly shifted when, at one end of the long hall, just in front of the double-doors leading out, a pair of fiery rifts seemed to be torn into space itself. A duo of Knights stepping through the reptile-iris-shaped rips, both had largely the same appearance as standard Knights save for their carapace being a faded grey color. Their eyes glowing orange instead of green, these Knights also possessed a number of cracks and gashes across their bodies, all of which were illuminated with an orange, almost magma-like glow. Not actually oozing any magma or magma-like liquid, they nonetheless looked like they were burning with raging hellfire despite calmly standing there, one in front of either door. Each wielding a Cleaver, the two Knights oddly stood their ground, turning their Cleavers to rest the tip on the floor, both hands resting on the jagged pommel to keep the blade vertical.

The Fireteam not opening fire out of sheer confusion at the Knights' behavior, these odd, mutant Knights almost seemed like they were playing the role of door-guards more than assailants, stoically staring the Fireteam down without the slightest flinch or twitch. Not sure what to expect, things were further complicated when the double-doors at the _other _end of the room slowly swung open, seemingly on their own. Completely open, the presence of the two Knights started to make more sense, as _something _was trying to guide them.

"This feels like a trap." Merikh's Ghost felt like pointing out, even if it was somewhat stating the obvious.

"Does it still count as a trap if you go into it knowing some shit's gonna happen?" Airada pointed out, not _excited _to step through the open doors, but not against it either.

"Does a Stormcaller have a serious self-harm disadvantage at the bottom of the ocean?" Merikh's Ghost counter-asked, effectively trying to say _both _questions were White Horse-grade inquiries. Seeing what the Ghost was playing at, Airada didn't bother to fight a losing battle, instead keeping her Bad Juju rifle aimed on the Knights while she waited for their unofficial leader to make a call on it. Hesitant, Merikh knew he needed to say _something,_ so he did.

"I hate to say it, but it seems like the only way through…Kudac, Barrett, Midas? You three keep your guns on the Knights and back up, the rest of us turn and face whatever's waiting for us in that room. Oh, and if me and anyone else don't make it out of here, whoever does has full permission to say it was my fault." Merikh instructed, acknowledging that he _might _be making a grave mistake here. Complying, everyone except Kudac, Barrett, and Midas turned to walk forward through the open double-doors while the aforementioned three slowly backed up, keeping their eyes on the two flaming Knights who still stoically stood guard at the end of the hall. Everyone entering the new room, the doors just as gently closed on their own once the entire team was inside, at which point it was safe to assume they were locked in.

This new room being a circular, high-ceiling, wide-open room, it almost seemed like a sparring arena, the centerpiece to the circular floor-platform that spanned most of the room being a tall, jagged, black crystal that went from the floor to the ceiling. Almost like a support beam, its true purpose was probably as one of those crystals Toland noted in his journal, which commonly appeared in Hive combat arenas with no understood purpose. The edges of the room being a shallow pool circling the cobalt-blue, ridged platform they stood on, the room had the unsettling ambiance of running water.

Namely from four decorative openings high in four corners of the room, their orientation in relation to the center-crystal placed them in a sort of X-shape, the crystal being in the center while one fountain-head was at each tip of the X. Two stylized like Knights and two stylized like Wizards, the openings were entire statues that water was able to flow through in various places, such as the palms of the Wizards' hands or the end of the Knights' Cleavers. Possibly having some meaning in regards to what each class did or was well-known for, Merikh's Ghost didn't have time to read any decorative plaques or engravings on the statues as two more pairs of double-doors opened, one on the right side, one on the left. Thunderous footsteps echoing through the room, it was both convenient and unsettling as Komodo's prey came to them, along with an unwanted bonus.

"Well, there he is…you think he remembers me from Crota's Ascendant Realm?" Merikh asked Alvara despite the latter having not been present for Crota's death, referring to how Nikthar, the white-clad Sword of Crota, calmly stepped in through the double-doors on the left. Just as Merikh remembered him, the tall, roughly 11' Knight had a very Cavalier-esque helmet, only with the spikes glowing blue, as well as many of the other design elements of Cavaliers, like the heavy gauntlets and greaves. The main distinction from a Cavalier being his bone-white armor, as well as the metal rings embedded into his shoulder-pads and the back of his torso, said rings were trailing long, rectangular strips of white cloth, which probably served a similar decorative purpose to the red ones Crota had. Wielding what looked to be a normally-shaped Cleaver, the biggest differences were the bone-white blade and the blue-glowing Hive runes adorning both flat sides of it. One small bonus being a row of three short, sharp blue-glowing spikes placed between the knuckles on each hand, it wasn't a glaring threat, but a threat regardless.

Adding onto that, the right door introduced the Knight of the house so to speak, the 15' tall Knight Vurlok, leader of the Teeth of Vurlok. Looking far more like a standard Cavalier, Vurlok's carapace was a cobalt blue color like his troops, but slightly asymmetrical, with a far more armored, bulky, heavy right shoulder and forearm while his left was much thinner, lighter, and less armored. Dragging a long staff in his left hand, closer inspection revealed it to be a double-ended version of the Cavalier's naginata-style weapon. The two blades pointing in opposite directions of one-another, a _painfully _quick, short rundown of its appearance would be to say the grey double-ended staff looked like two Cleaver blades on a stick, more or less. Dragging one blade on the ground to create a sickening grinding sound, it was evident that Vurlok was the less elegant, more ruthlessly violent half of this duo.

"Hey, look on the bright side….neither of them are giving off Ascendant-level energy readings, which means if we kill them here, they'll stay dead. Silver linings, right?" Merikh's Ghost pointed out, giving at least _one _positive to the situation. Still not heavily reassured, things got even worse when Nikthar actually started talking to them.

"You killed Crota, and now you seek to finish the job…you think I'm the _lynchpin_ here? That killing me will…._destroy _Oryx's morale? Cripple his efforts? The tiniest insect cannot hope to stop a great wave. No matter what transpires here and now, no matter who kills who, neither of us small, insignificant insects can hope to stop the great wave that is Oryx's will. I suggest you remember that, lest you seek to die in vain attempting to stop him." Nikthar antagonized, obviously not one for excessive formalities as he hefted his Cleaver up, giving it a quick wrist-twist before assuming a combat stance.

"Hey, Turan? If you or your brothers get any crazy ideas during this fight that don't involve telekinetically flinging us into them like bullets, do it. I feel like we're going to need every little advantage we can get in this fight. Everyone else, if they spread us out, just keep an eye on the two of them above all else. If we don't lose track of them, they can't conquer us as easily." Merikh instructed, doing so now just incase he didn't have the time to do so mid-fight. Unfortunately, even in this time of high-tension, Merikh was still open to a jab.

"Strange, and here I thought your wit was enough to kill anything…we'll see what we can do." Turan countered, raising his LMG to point in Vurlok's direction. Not finding it worth countering at a time like this, Merikh was more focused on dodging as Nikthar skewed past the traditional Cleaver Knight attack-plan. Swinging his Cleaver in a vertically upwards strike, Nikthar was well out of range of anybody, yet still at threat of hitting them as a blue, flaming crescent-shaped projectile was flung from his sword, rushing forward and detonating against the far wall. Using it as a smokescreen of sorts, Nikthar let off a guttural, animalistic roar as he sprinted behind his projectile to close the gap, going for a leaping overhead slam in Carwyn's direction. Side-stepping the Cleaver-slam, Carwyn was too focused on Nikthar to notice Vurlok close in, swinging the blunt side of one end on his staff to bat Carwyn in the stomach.

Not outright bisecting him due to it being the blunt, dull side rather than the cutting side of that blade, it nonetheless carried the Defender Titan off his feet as Carwyn's left arm instinctively wrapped over the top of the blade. Swinging it in a down-to-up diagonal strike, it looked more like a golfer trying to land a hole in one as Vurlok went through with his upwards swing, the Titan eventually losing his grip and hurtling into the far wall at the peak of the swing. Not dead or incapacitated, Carwyn nonetheless needed a moment to get his bearings and his footing, for which Vurlok wanted to close in for the kill. Going for a bisection this time, Vurlok intended to accomplish it with an overhead slam, similar to what Nikthar did, but without the jumping.

Just getting to the height of his slam, Vurlok was milliseconds away from bringing his double-ended staff _right _on Carwyn's back when Kudra, the twitchy, teleporting Void-Flayer, popped up on Vurlok's shoulder in a flash of purple light. Still going through with the swing, Kudra's appearance saved Carwyn's life regardless as the started Vurlok mucked up his swing, slamming the bladed end of his staff into the floor _near _Carwyn, but not _on _the Titan. About ready to snatch Kudra off his shoulder, the 15' Knight got an unwelcome Void Surprise as Kudra channeled some of his power through his palm, giving a classic Psion/Warlock-style energy blast right into Vurlok's face. Not killing Vurlok, or even blinding him, it _was _enough to daze and disorient the Knight, who aimlessly swung his double-ended staff in hopes of blindly winging someone.

Only succeeding in lodging one end of his staff into the crystal in the center of the arena, both Airada and Komo made like a pair of opportunistic leeches, closing in with the hopes of dealing some grievous wounds to Vurlok while his blade was stuck. Only getting as far as a Storm grenade under his feet and some Hawkmoon shots to the head, it wasn't long before Vurlok wrenched his blade free, nearly chopping both ladies' legs off in the process. Just barely skimming near them, Vurlok swung with so much force, the small wind-gust actually jostled Komo's cape and threw Airada's robes back for a second. Thoroughly intimidated, the duo swiftly backed up, giving the giant Knight some breathing room.

The fight against Nikthar not being any easier, the current tactic was taking advantage of his limited ranged capabilities by having Jurach, the Solar Flayer, zone him out so to speak. Causing small Sunspot-like pyres whenever he could, Jurach was effectively trying to bombard Nikthar and leave him helpless, attempting to roast the Knight in Solar fire while everyone just backed away. Hearing loud, thunderous footsteps off to the side, Jurach was somewhat distracted as Vurlok attempted to close in, using a swift overhead slam to try and crush the Flayer. Side-stepping it just barely, Jurach's attention was off Nikthar long enough for the shorter, Cleaver-wielding Knight to close in, attempting to do the same and vertically bisect Jurach.

Somewhat helpless in this two-on-one, Jurach's big brother was already en-route to help, the Arc Flayer Turan throwing up an Arc Barrier between Jurach and Nikthar within the last few feet of Nikthar's rush. Having started his attack as another leaping, double-handed overhead slam, Nikthar's blade came to rest in Turan's Arc Barrier somewhat near the Knight's own head-level, which greatly confused the Knight. Letting go of the blade with his left hand, Nikthar kept his right hand firmly gripping the Cleaver as he attempted to wrench it free, to which a keen ear could almost hear Turan give a low, quick, mischievous chuckle. Accelerating the blade just like he did the Cavalier's blade back on the beach, the different circumstances of where Nikthar was in relation to his blade caused a different, albeit still unpleasant outcome.

Flinging the sword away at high speed as intended, the main difference was, due to being right next to the shield, and slightly off to the left side of the blade, Nikthar wasn't killed by his own sword. Instead, the Sword of Crota was disarmed in a literal sense as his right arm, the hand of which was trying to hold onto the Cleaver's grip, was ripped from his torso wholesale like wet paper. Flying off with the Cleaver, Nikthar's severed arm still gripped the Cleaver as it lodged itself into the face of one of the Knight fountains in the corner of the room, where the arm beneath the plate finally turned to dust. Completely helpless without his Cleaver, Vurlok attempted to help his comrade by beating Nikthar to the statue before giving it a midline whack with his staff.

Splitting the statue in two, the 15' Knight shamelessly destroyed his race's own craftsmanship to expedite the return of Nikthar's Cleaver, all in hopes that the statue's upper half would shatter and set Nikthar's blade free when it landed. The 15' giant being assaulted by a flurry of Fusion Grenades as Niro engaged his Radiance, Vurlok couldn't come to Nikthar's aid as the latter was intercepted mid-sprint to his Cleaver. Not many of the members of Komodo having the raw ramming power to bowl a beast like Nikthar over, the one who did, Midas, did so with a full-on shoulder-tackle from Nikthar's left side, hellbent on keeping the Sword of Crota from his Cleaver.

Pinning Nikthar on his back, Midas was effectively mounting the Knight as he jammed his gun's barrel against Nikthar's stomach, getting two good blasts off before the Knight could retaliate. Still possessing an undamaged left arm, Nikthar put it to good use, ramming his knuckle-spikes into Midas' right shoulder. Ramming it between the shoulder and the torso, right into the rotary joint itself, Nikthar didn't instantaneously shut down Midas' arm, but still did a good job of throwing it off course as Midas' gun wandered downwards. The third blast ripping into Nikthar's thigh instead of his stomach, Midas' fourth shot simply hit the ground as Nikthar crowbar'd the Manticore's arm right off, kicking the discombobulated Vex off afterwards. Shambling to his feet, Nikthar stumbled and limped away, his remaining left arm wrapped over his damaged stomach as his chitinous plate and dusty body slowly started to fall apart. Catching Vurlok's attention, the larger Knight had a game-plan to win, but unfortunately, it wasn't in Nikthar's favor.

Having been ruthlessly battered by a combination of pestering bites by Kyra's Wire Rifle and Merikh's sniper amidst the grenade barrage from Niro, as well as a torrent of gunfire from everyone else in the team, Vurlok charged his way past the group, blatantly ignoring everyone as he closed the gap on Nikthar. Seeming like he was there to help, it was at the last second that Nikthar realized Vurlok's intentions, the 15' Knight raising his staff to swing horizontally and lop Nikthar's head off. Cutting right through the bone and dusty sinew in one clean go, the kill alone wasn't Vurlok's attention as he reached down, jamming his hand between Nikthar's shoulders in order to rip out the latter's Worm. Pulling it straight out, the 15' Knight crushed it in his grip, demonstrating where his title came into play.

"Well…now I see where the 'Ravenous' part came from….." Merikh's Ghost commented, watching as Vurlok physically adapted and shifted slightly. Not undergoing any radical metamorphosis, and not even growing any extra limbs like a Marauder's tail, the changes were subtle, with small chunks of bone-white armor emerging amidst Vurlok's cobalt blue plate. His eyes going blue, the most direct adoption Vurlok took was the emergence of Nikthar's knuckle-spikes on each hand. Understandably larger given Vurlok's larger hands, the three glowing, blue spikes on each hand were an undeniably larger threat if one got in punching range as Vurlok let off a war-cry, ready to take a second go at these intruders. Everyone spreading out, to avoid being an easy target Vurlok not only took Nikthar's party trick, he doubled it.

Twirling his staff in much the same way Nikthar swung his sword at the onset of the fight, Vurlok managed to fling a total of three consecutive flaming crescent-projectiles at his enemies, just like Nikthar did. Having his own spin on it, Vurlok finished the attack off with slamming one end of his staff into the floor, causing a tri-pattern of rushing flame-lines on the floor. Two going slightly left and right in a Y-pattern while one went right down the middle, even just a second or two of passing through the flame massively chunked or outright broke the shields of the various Guardians, causing unshielded members like Kyra to simply hold their ground and wait. The flames thankfully dissipating after a few seconds, everyone except Midas was unintentionally back at the same side of the room, nobody daring get close to this unknown threat.

Even Vurlok not noticing where Midas was, the Manticore thankfully had time to manually disengage his right arm's grip on his gun, retrieving the plasma shotgun from his severed limb and instead wielding it in his still-attached left hand to start ripping chunks into Vurlok's legs. Thoroughly grabbing the Knight's attention, Vurlok tried to simply bat Midas away like he did Carwyn at the start of the fight, aiming to slam the blunt side of one blade into Midas' right side. Specifically aiming for the right so Midas couldn't easily latch on given his missing right arm, the Manticore didn't even _need _a right arm to skew Vurlok's plan, tanking the slam instead. Expecting another home-run, Vurlok was _massively _confused to see as Midas simply dug his feet into the ground, grinding small marks into the floor while he skidded a few feet to the left before properly negating the momentum of Vurlok's swing. Doing so simply with the mass of his body rather than a blocking arm, Midas was hardly even fazed by it.

"Now, you big brute…allow me to _retort_." Midas said aloud, albeit mostly to himself as he raised his shotgun, opening fire on Vurlok's head. Ripping some chunks out in the process, Vurlok angrily tried again with a second swing in much the same manner as the first, only to accidentally cross the center of his staff through Midas' line of fire. Not designed to tank the superheated plasma ejected from Midas' shotgun, the staff properly broke in two, causing the half Vurlok wasn't gripping to careen away and slam into the wall. Now even more frustrated than before, Vurlok made another desperate attempt to off Midas, hurling the remaining half of his staff in Midas' direction. Shooting it down in transit, the staff fractured into multiple pieces, scattering left and right with no actual damage dealt to the Vex.

The rest of the Fireteam now thoroughly confident in laying into him, the volley of fire was opened up by a rocket from Airada, which slammed directly into Vurlok's upper back. Stumbling the giant Knight, the distraction was enough to afford Midas an escape as the Vex ran to join the group. Everyone now more level-headed and ready to divide Vurlok's attention, things were looking similarly dim for Vurlok as he received two more rockets to the upper chest, as well as countless sniper and machine-gun rounds across his upper body. Admirably tanking the damage, albeit without doing much more than fumbling around from the force of the impacts, Vurlok was getting more desperate by the second until he finally wrenched his still-usable half-staff out of the wall and went on a suicide rush, fist raised and hoping to crush someone.

Angrily hurling the half-staff in the direction of his enemies, Komo was the unlucky soul to get thrown to the floor when the half-staff slammed into her. Thankfully being hit by the actual staff and not the blade, it was still _much _more than the Hunter was expecting as she skidded on her back, dazed and confused while her systems tried to assess internal damage. Effectively in a state of confusion, Komo hardly understood what was going on when she was sharply kicked and shoved to the left, seemingly by one of her own squadmates. Hearing a loud slam, Komo got her bearings just in time for everyone to realize what had happened as Vurlok stood down on one knee, fist pressed into the floor.

_With Merikh under that fist._

Certifiably impaled through the stomach by Vurlok's knuckle-spikes, it must've happened through pure crossfire as Merikh shoved Komo out of Vurlok's way, only to get slammed himself instead. Not outright dead yet, the blood on Vurlok's hand showed he _certainly _didn't miss, and yet, Merikh raised one hand to his team, ordering a hold-fire. Looking amongst themselves, Merikh could see Barrett wanted to just run up and rip Vurlok's eyes out, shifting and glancing angrily, and yet, Merikh stuck to his order. Putting his hand down after a few seconds, Merikh pulled his helmet off, seeming oddly collected.

"Hey, Vurlok, you speak English?" Merikh inquired, sounding like he wanted to hold a casual conversation. Blatantly confused by the inquiry, nobody knew if Vurlok understood what Merikh said, or if Merikh's behavior alone was enough to confuse the giant Hive. Bringing his face in closer to Merikh's, easily within arm's reach, Vurlok had no idea about the price he'd pay for doing so. "Ah, who am I kidding, Oryx is probably watching anyway, like he always fuckin' is…well, Oryx, if you're watching, _here it is_. The face of the man who facilitated the death of your son, and the face that's gonna send you to meet him soon enough….at least, assuming you Hive have your own form of Hell. If you do, the way I'm sendin' your lackey here out is the _same _thing I'm gonna do to you. When you see my mask…_run._"

A light flash erupting after that, Vurlok hardly had a second to react before Merikh jammed his newly-conjured Golden Gun in Vurlok's mouth. Not pausing for dramatic effect, Merikh went right to firing as, despite not technically _wearing _his Celestial Nighthawk helmet, he still only got one shot worth the power of six, incinerating a hole right through the back of Vurlok's head. Vurlok's knuckles pushing harder on Merikh's stomach-wound, the slight twist was enough to do them both in as both Vurlok and Merikh turned to dust, leaving only Merikh's floating Ghost behind. Alvara wasting not a second in getting to it, the transference of Light that followed was every Guardian's saving grace as everyone's favorite, 6' orange toothpick was revived in a transmat-like flash of light. Landing on his feet, Merikh went right back to his flippant, normal self, not even slightly bothered that he just sacrificed himself to insult a Hive God.

"Sorry about getting a little speechy there, something about being on your deathbed _really _brings it out in some people…it didn't sound too stupid, did it?" Merikh casually asked for critiques on his mini-speech/threat to Oryx. Not even _slightly _bothered by the fact that he was standing in some of his own blood from his previous 'life', it was _painfully _apparent that some of the other members of the Fireteam cared about him _way _more than he did as Alvara wasted little time in giving him a right hook to the side of the head. Thankfully having his helmet automatically back on due to the revival, he was going to _need _the protection as, with hardly a second to spare, Kyra gave him a similar strike to the front of the head. Even Komo and Airada joining in, the Exo Hunter gave him a stern knee in the stomach before Airada gave him an electrical punch in the pectorals, and after all of that, Kudac joined in to give him a stern kick in the stomach. "Why the hell are _you_ hitting me?! I know you even less than I know Komo!"

"Oh, I…thought it was some strange custom you humans have to beat a Guardian after they're revived since everyone else was doing it, so I just joined in. Is that…incorrect?" Kudac explained, having just gone by example since everyone _else _was beating Merikh's ass, so why not her too? Groaning slightly as he braced his right forearm over his stomach, Merikh only didn't snap at her since he understood the 'culture gap' between Guardians and a newcomer like Kudac.

"Ladies, ladies, calm down….." Barrett stepped in, sounding like he was trying to mediate the situation. Feeling slightly relieved, that relief was turned to more pain as _Barrett _joined in too, giving Merikh a firm right hook that topped even Alvara's, knocking the lanky Hunter right over. "Seriously though, I think you had _all _of us scared there….do something like that again, and you can expect a _worse _ass-whooping for scaring us."

"Didn't know you lost your balls somewhere along the way there, Barrett…" Merikh mumbled, raising one hand in a 'Peace, please!' gesture when he saw Barrett raise his fist again. A few seconds of silence going by, the woodland-camo Titan eventually helped his friend and comrade up, as well as providing a leg to stand on while Merikh got his bearings again. Almost as if to brighten the mood, Kudac's demonstration of more cultural cluelessness provided just enough quirk to distract Merikh from his pain.

"So, can your Dead Person locate a way out? Perhaps another portal, or some form of transport we can steal?" Kudac asked in a serious tone, which was _completely _offset by her usage of 'Dead Person'. Even Kyra giving her a sideways look, the three Psion Flayers were the only ones _not _looking at Kudac funny.

"I'm a _Ghost, _thank you very much….as for a way out, there appears to be another rift back through the door we entered with, might lead back to the surface…..could also propel us into deep space or lead us on a maze-walk between different extra-galactic Hive forts, but it's probably best if we stick to the positives. Speaking of positives…where's Caldwell's better half?" Merikh's Ghost pointed out, having _finally _realized that The Exo Stranger never came through the portal. Everyone looking around in a vain hope of finding her, it was something they would regrettably have to sort out later.

_Two hours later, deep within the Xaphan Exsul I Supercarrier…._

Deciding to let the proof of their work speak for themselves, the returning Fireteam, which had claimed the empty helmets of both Nikthar and Vurlok before their departure, decided to have a pit-crew of Psions put the helmets on one of their hovering push-carts and wheel it into the meet with Sha'oen ahead of the Fireteam properly arriving. The Fireteam in full not being far behind the Psions, Kudac was leading the group in order to put her fellow Cabal at ease as they ventured back to the room where they first met Sha'oen. Entering through the same doorway they had the first time, it was seemingly just as they left it, Sha'oen sitting on the same crate as before, as well as Valus Kru'aurc standing by his side like a loyal guard dog. All three of Komodo's left-behind members seeming perfectly fine, the giant Archon Riksis was slumped against a nearby wall, alive and breathing, but seeming deathly bored as he absent-mindedly gazed at the other end of the room.

Even the Stranger being present, whatever happened to her with the portal must not've been a terribly huge inconvenience given how she seemed to be perfectly intact, sitting next to Caldwell as the two Exos had a mild conversation with the Primus. Even Sivala being alive and well in the room, she was having the most eventful time of them all, currently being laid siege to by a crew of six Psions. Standing her ground, it seemed to almost be a sort of playful fight as the Psions piled on, vainly trying and pathetically failing to topple the short Titan as she held her ground. Keeping one Psion in a headlock and having another two hanging onto her in hopes of pulling her down, the scrawny little mechanics were admirably trying despite their blatant disadvantage.

"So…..since we wheeled in some proof of our kills, mind if I throw the first question and ask what exactly is going on here?" Merikh inquired, pointing very specifically to Sivala. Having directed the question more at Sha'oen regardless, the Primus seemed to be in an oddly good mood compared to before, actually getting up to stand properly instead of keeping his seat.

"Your friend was describing how strong your Titan-class Guardians are, and one of the mechanic-crews wished to test that…I was curious myself, so she dared them to try and topple her. They've been at it for nearly an hour, and still no signs of fatigue on her part, which is admittedly impressive…..as-is your confirmed kills. I won't deny, I expected you Guardians to underhand me and scam us in some way, being I was admittedly conditioned to view you as the unconditional enemy for quite some time. But…after some consideration, and this proof of your capabilities, I've come to realize the Cabal's system might be a bit…._archaic. _It has served us for many a century, but swords served many a culture for centuries as well. Doesn't mean the first system is always the best, so as such, I'm regarding the Servo Flayers as an independent element from the Cabal military. My troops are still my own, and one of your Guardians will _truly _have to impress me to achieve the rank of Valus, but from here on, when you need backup, if it's for a worthy cause, we'll be here to help." Primus Sha'oen explained, effectively declaring his severance in full from the Cabal military in favor of working with the Guardians, much like how the Suns aren't on the hate-humanity bandwagon.

"That brings me to something I wished to discuss…..sir, with your permission, I'd like to depart from the Servo Flayers and join this Fireteam. This Merikh individual may have his…._moments_…but his display of selflessness down in the depths of that Hive fort showed me that he's a genuinely good leader figure at heart, just one with a mouth is all." Kudac requested, having not discussed this _at all _with Merikh or anybody else on the way over. Completely throwing it out of the blue, Merikh turned in confusion at the declaration, but was surprisingly stopped by Kyra's hand on his shoulder before he could say anything.

"It simply takes some getting used to…trust me, I've learned from experience." Kyra added on, slightly to Merikh's dismay as it only supported Kudac's point about him. Strongly catching Caldwell's attention, and even breaking up the wrestling match between Sivala and the Psions, the short Titan casually let go of the headlocked Psion and shook the rest off before drawing closer.

"Oh really…..an act of heroism, huh? What'd he do?" Sivala inquired, strongly interested by the claim.

"Well, I know _he'll _undersell himself, so I'll say it instead: Your boyfriend here not only saved my life when I was about to get shish-kebab'd on the end of a giant Knight's fist when he not only shoved me out of the way, he took the blow himself _and _had the balls to talk shit right to Oryx before killing the Knight in question with a Golden Gun through the head. And, instead of crying about it afterwards, he just tried to play it off…..you and him are one in the same sometimes, I swear." Komo explained with a smile, knowing it was everything Merikh _wouldn't _have put into his own description of the scenario, even if Komo's explanation was more accurate.

"Hey hey hey, isn't boyfriend a _little _excessive of a title?" Merikh tried to defend, to which Komo sharply shoved him into the short Titan.

"How is it excessive? You're not _my _boyfriend, I've got Airada. And besides, you and Sivala are both stubborn-ass selfless idiots who underplay your own skills all the time, you're great for each other." Komo continued to twist the metaphorical dagger in Merikh's side, causing even more dismay when the helmetless Sivala only smiled in agreement at how Komo was trying to play him. Feeling pity for the Hunter, Caldwell stood up, moving the topic at hand back to Kudac.

"Alright, alright, leave him alone, he's had a long day…..and from what I heard, he handled the descent to the portal admirably well…..as for accepting Kudac, if the Primus will allow it, I feel we've got enough space to comfortably fit one last permanent member on the team. Primus?" Caldwell assured, turning to Sha'oen for a yes/no as Kudac's commanding officer. Giving Kudac a good, long look, the fact that nobody could see Sha'oen's face beneath his Centurion-style helmet did little to deter Kudac as she stood her ground on the request.

"Very well, as your Primus, I hereby fully consign you to serve under Caldwell and Merikh in Fireteam Komodo. Whatever they say and do in regards to you is now officially out of my hands, and it will require a full re-consignment from the two of them for you to be re-instated into the Servo Flayers. You have three days to make your peace, collect your things, and depart the ship with your new allies. You're free to visit whenever they permit you to, but in regards to permanent residence, you are no longer a member of the Xaphan Exsul I." Primus Sha'oen officially declared, essentially going through the 'legal-speak' to legitimately and totally confirm Kudac's transference into Komodo's ranks. Giving a small forward bow, Kudac took a spot at the back of Komodo's ranks as Riksis slowly got up, Caldwell stepping to the front while the Stranger moved to stand somewhere in the middle.

"With that completed, I think we're done here…..as for future joint-operations, if you run into any problems you feel your men can't handle, there's no need to get them helplessly killed facing a problem over and over. If there's any way we can help, just contact us and we'll most likely be more than happy to assist." Caldwell informed, going through as best of a departing farewell as he could given neither he nor Sha'oen knew the other's customs for such things. Ending somewhat awkwardly, it was nonetheless pleasant as the Fireteam, as well as their shameless tag-alongs Sivala, Komo, and Airada, all left to depart from the ship. Leaving only the three Psion Flayers behind, it wasn't hard to figure they'd cross paths again soon.

Author's Note

So…wow. Wow about two things: First, wow this chapter was _really _god-damn long. Like, _holy-shit-I-think-this-is-the-longest-chapter-I've-ever-written_ levels of long. And wow, this chapter took _way _longer to write than it should have. I sat on the previous thing I was writing before turning to this chapter for a good two weeks trying to make it better, then in the middle of this my depression streak came and went, and I was basically down to only pecking at it every Thursday for weeks, even missed a week and just didn't write, because during most of the week I unfortunately find myself writing a _ton _of smaller, more contained one-off scenes for various different stories, or even one of two original IPs, then emailing them to _one _friend of mine to read. It's massively fun to do, but it leaves people like all of you hanging, so it's a bit of a guilty-pleasure habit I want to apologize for.

In addition to that, I've also been doing rewrites on various stories (Other ones, this one's pretty much good aside from maybe some TINY goofs like tot he instead of to the, which seems to happen to me painfully often), some of which are already public and others are full-story redos that have yet to go live. On the bright side, pretty much all of these scenes for the non-original IPs (IE stuff that's fan-writing rather than settings I've created from scratch) are just me putting down the ideas I have for the public chapters that can't be used for quite a while since they take place later in the story, so some future chapters might actually come by _faster _because I'm somewhat writing them in advance!…..still doesn't really excuse it though, so again, massively sorry for that.

Moving on, I'm sure plenty of readers didn't take long to figure out the Vurlok/Nikthar fight was designed to be a _very _Ornstein and Smough-style fight (Dark Souls 1, if anyone isn't familiar): Two enemies that complement each other's weaknesses quite well, and when one goes down, the other gets better. I know the Bond-Brothers Strike did it too, but for some reason that example just feels really…..underwhelming. Maybe it's because nearly everyone and their mother, myself included, kills Mau'ual before Tlu'urn since Mau'ual's an annoying bastard and the root cause of most times that I fail the strike, and Tlu'urn really doesn't _do _much with Mau'ual's gear except a get-off-me slam when you get close, so it just didn't really carry the threat of a super-powered Ornstein or anything like that. As such, even though the fight was way shorter for the sake of not boring the reader compared to how it would be in-game, I still tried to make powered-up Vurlok feel a bit scarier than Tlu'urn with Mau'ual's jetpack was.

Moving on to the Flayers, I wanted to give each of them a unique party-trick since, and I know this is a complaint we've all given multiple times about the base-game, but the Dust Palace Flayers were REALLY dull for being the class of Psion that _pulled a moon out of orbit_. You mean to tell me that the ratty little bastards who pulled a Force Unleashed on Phobos itself don't have _anything _remotely more special that they can do in a fight compared to a normal Psion? So, while Jurach's and Kudra's were pretty simple ideas (Zoning and teleportation respectively), Turan's was the big one that I liked the most. I was thinking on what's something that could directly punish the player for attacking at a certain time, IE beyond just wasting bullets during an immunity phase, and then I remembered back to how when you shoot one of Zarya's shields (Yes, I play Overwatch on PC under the same username. Don't worry, I really don't have enough ideas for a full-on story, just maybe a one-shot or two I'll throw out at some point, but nothing extravagant) you're _directly _punished for it because it makes her do more damage for a bit.

Since directly translating that to Turan's gun didn't make much sense, I sorta paired that with the idea of the Vortex Shield from Titanfall and Volt's barriers from Warframe to get what you see in-game: An Arc barrier that can stop projectiles dead and, at the flick of a wrist, catapult them right back. Obviously it wasn't used as an anti-Guardian tool in this chapter, but _that _was mostly so I could even introduce the idea without it being a boring waiting game of Komodo _maybe _nearly dying to it _once,_ then just playing a waiting-game of holding fire whenever the shield goes up. Moving on to some other small notes, some people might've noticed this was by-far the _worst _time Merikh's ever had in a single chapter, from the sheer quantity of roasting counter-remarks he got to literally dying to protect someone he hardly knows much. To say it upfront, I did it because I wanted to generate a bit more admiration for Merikh, namely by showing that for all his sarcastic remarks and comebacks, he can take as good as he gives instead of whining or otherwise finding it unfair when someone turns his jabs back on him, so it makes him a bit more likable for not holding a seeming double-standard about it.

He's not going to stop being who he is, it was more just to show there's _more _to him than _just _a witty asshole, and how he doesn't actually seem to hate everyone he's around on a daily basis. Moving on from that, further on the topic of people he's around, is everyone even remotely liking the three tag-alongs from the Fireteam I _still _haven't written a name for? (Sivala, Komo, and Airada). I haven't seen any polarizingly up or down reactions about them, so as far as I can take it, I probably just need to show them more and give people a reason to lean one way or the other, but first-up I'm going to focus the first part of the chapter on addressing the _first _"I want more" request I got, which was for Midas. Main reason I asked now instead of then is just in-case I can build off of that and jump right into more deepening of the characters past Midas and then Carwyn or the Stranger, so it's more just a forethought thing than anything else.

Finally, I found it somewhat odd that nobody ever picked up on this, but since Prey 2 as we knew it is probably never going to exist now that the redone, radically different Prey exists, I'll explain the reference outright: Killian, the cybernetic bounty-hunter Fallen from back in Africa during the fight with Skolas and the most recent Germany-trip against the House of Iron, takes his name as a direct reference to Killian Samuels, who was _going _to be the protagonist of Prey 2 before they, well, junked it in favor of the new one. Killian from Prey 2, for people who don't know, was a U.S. Marshal turned bounty hunter, and even had a U.S. Marshal badge shown in the cinematic trailer, so that combined with the use of Rusty Cage in said trailer led me to design the slightly western cowboy-styled cyborg Fallen you know here in LOTP. Almost to make it more obvious, I even put in Killian saying he found the badge in a plane-wreck, which at the start of that trailer, you can see a wrecked plane around, so I figured _somebody _would've picked up on it, but maybe that's the beauty in a way: Only people who _really _remember that trailer would've seen the reference on their own. Either way, unlike Prey 2, LOTP is never getting junked since, as long as these updates take sometimes, I can promise you one thing: If I decided to up and quit writing this stuff altogether, I would just close my account. So, no matter how long it takes, unless I change the story status to done or the story outright vanishes, you can count on a chapter coming, whenever that might be, and that goes for _all _my stories, not just this one.


	19. Shaman's Canyon

Pre-chapter message to TheSwagMaster0777: Please read this chapter's Author's Note after you're done with the chapter, I promise it's spoiler-free in regards to future chapters.

Chapter 19: Shaman's Canyon

_Inside Kyra's riverside shack, abandoned Poland settlement…_

Having a few days to themselves while the Vanguard tried to figure out their next move against Skolas and Oryx, the 'classified' members of Komodo had effectively turned this abandoned Polish settlement into their own little home, with not only Kyra, but now Midas, Riksis, and Kudac taking up permanent residence in the ramshackle, trashed buildings. Kyra being the only one to have a standalone shack to herself, the Vandal was currently entertaining herself in the only manner she knew.

"You've got quite a fixation on the Traveler…your people revere it as a god, correct?" Midas observed, now having his right arm re-attached after they were able to give it the proper, time-consuming maintenance to do so. Currently sitting in a simple chair inside Kyra's tiny shack, the Vex Manticore's mechanical body left him with no _need _to sit, but the machine's decision wasn't based in needs. Knowing enough about more organic sapiens to understand that those who stand in an otherwise calm, social setting where most were sitting or laying down implied that the standing entity was being confrontational or impatient, the Vex took his seat to subtly let the bed-laying Vandal know he was in neither of those moods. True to his words, the artistic Vandal was currently cutting into a small, circular piece of metal, about three or four inches across, to try and inscribe the Traveler's logo into it. Having already painted the disc a bright white color, as well as poking a single hole through one edge, the Vandal was just putting the final touches on the piece.

"Of all the things I disagree with my former House about, worshipping the Traveler is one small area where we agreed….unfortunately, we couldn't even agree in regards to reclaiming it. I'm sure Alvara's told you my whole story before, about seeking diplomacy where others wish to win by force, so instead, I'm more interested in hearing what _your _connection to the Great Machine is. You have that same logo quite literally built into your pelvic region, so you can't have just a passing association." Kyra fleetingly explained, not liking to toot her own horn with her life's story every single time she was given the chance. Getting the last few scratches and other details in, Kyra casually set her knife onto the ramshackle bedside stand before snatching up a small, beaded chain that Alvara had given her.

"You make a solid observation…." Midas admitted, sounding like he would have sighed if he could. "You might have heard from the Guardians, but the Vex aren't _true _machines, we're cyborgs. We were once a biological race in our entirety, though I can't remember whether we were avian, reptilian, crustacean, humanoid….perhaps even canine or bovine. We encountered the Traveler, and soon after, we began utilizing the technological advancements granted to us to further ourselves. It started simple, with automations, cybernetics, and other kinds of digital interfaces, but it soon grew into a form of transcendence. We as a race were obsessed with the concept of immortalization, ensuring that no matter what may strike, no matter who may fall, the greater collective will live on."

"Which is where the time travel came from?" Kyra interjected, trying to see if she could figure this out to any degree. Slotting the small bead-chain through the hole she punched at one edge of the tiny disc, she was still handling her own craftsmanship, albeit with an attentive ear aimed in Midas' direction.

"_Time Travel _hardly describes it much….it was more like a time _rewrite_. We as a species began to divide, split into two warring parties when one became unhealthily obsessed with attaining the utmost perfection as a species. They tried to throw away our culture, our identity, our individuality, _all _for the slightest bit of improvement. We already had a neural network in place, but it was non-intrusive. It helped us equally in combat and commerce, synchronizing thoughts, ideas, and actions to move as a more unified collective, but they sought to take it further. They instated a newer, more controlling system that _did _unify the species to an even greater degree, up to what you see now, but at the cost of turning every last individual into an indistinct program. There was no art, no culture, no individuality, just cogs in a machine, with a few priority programs at the top in the form of the Axis units we have now." Midas continued to explain, bringing some clarity to the subject.

"The two factions were known as the Hezen Initiative and the Keran Collective. The Hezen Initiative were the ones obsessed with this obscene advancement, and fittingly, _they_ were the ones more in charge of science and research. By contrast, my people, the Keran Collective, were more socially and politically oriented, ensuring everyone was happy and working together effectively. They supplied the tools, we told people how it worked. The zealots on _both_ sides were swift in adopting this new system, which left me with only the rare few that were neither fanatical, nor unlucky enough to be seized and forced to undergo this slavery. We as a standalone faction were small, scattered, and almost _completely_ helpless in mounting an effective resistance to the strength of the unified and enhanced Hezen Initiative, so we were soon subjugated and placed into a self-contained sub-dimension under the watchful eye of Vudron, whom you might remember killing on the Moon when we first met. They believed we could be convinced to see their side in time, so rather than exterminate us, they simply locked us down and told us to think things through."

"That's almost worse than the Eliksni's experience…..but, why can't you remember what you once were?" Kyra pointed out, finding it odd that Midas couldn't even remember what type of creature his race used to be.

"I didn't get to the rewrite part….as I said, my race was obsessed with the idea of immortality. To ensure that nothing could erase you….and so, the Hezen Initiative sought to take the weakest link out of the equation. What truly sparked the short, volatile conflict between us was when they used our newfound understanding of time to _erase _what we once were. Suddenly nobody could remember our great legends, our myths, our historical figures, or even what some of the eldest members looked like before their transcendence into cyborgs. The didn't just hide it, we couldn't remember because it was _gone_. An ugly, messy hole that the Initiative outright punched through time itself. I _feel_ like I came from a time back when we were organic, but for the life of me, I can't remember my old name, before calling myself Midas…..I'm not exaggerating when I say the Hezen Initiative were thorough in wiping _everything_ that existed before we reached our current state of being." Midas informed with a tone of regret, which would only get more depressing from there.

"But, if you're only a cyborg, why do you talk like a machine so often? So…._rigid_, and emotionless at times. It truly betrays your status as a living creature with free-thought and emotion." Kyra realized, remembering how computer-like Midas came off during their first meeting. Sagging forward in his chair, Midas rested his long, golden arms on his knees, showing this was _actually_ starting to get him a bit.

"When I say we're cyborgs, I really mean it in the faintest degree possible….imagine your brain being surgically removed, and stripped for only its most core, functionally necessary components as a sentient being. Thankfully I seemed to have made it out with just a fraction more, but in the end, segments of my brain are all I have left. I have no skin, no organs, no nerves, I'm like a jar of talking fluid in an advanced casing. Thankfully my functions aren't suppressed like the Vex you see and fight now, but when you're as out of touch with the fundamentals of being an organic as I am, you start to regress back into logic. I'm capable of so much more, but after being sheltered like that for so long, I….._don't know how to use it_. If you do something one way for long enough, you outright forget how else it can be done." Midas answered, sounding almost _defeated_ in a way. Feeling bad for the big Vex, Kyra was thankfully done with her little art-project, enabling her to put it to use.

"Well, hopefully people like Merikh will help you remember what it's like…..I won't lie, being with these Guardians has loosened even _my_ tongue a bit. Just the other day Barrett was through here, knocked down the wall of my shack by accident when he tried to catch a ball that he and Kudac were tossing back and forth. The clanking gállüru (brute) didn't even look where he was going, jumped to catch it, and took half my house down….I affectionately called him a dumb bastard for it, and I swear, you could almost _feel _the confusion beneath that helmet of his simply because I found the ordeal humorous. Naturally, he figured out _very _fast that I'd picked up the saying from hearing Merikh say the same thing to him." Kyra admitted, unable to deny she'd been a bit of a sponge for Guardian mannerisms and sayings due to her prolonged time with them.

"A _very _valid point…Caldwell seems to be similarly lightening up, though I credit _his _progress to that Exo friend of his. You have Alvara, and I'm sure Kudac will adapt to the Guardian way of thinking as she spends more time with Barrett…you think that might be the solution?" Midas theorized, taking a comically logical, mathematical approach to what was otherwise a non-logical, emotion/'feeling'-based issue. Getting up from her bed with necklace in-hand, while she wasn't planning on being that 'other' for Midas, the artistic Vandal still had a kind gesture to hand out as she undid the chain on her newly-made necklace. Holding one end of the chain in each of her upper hands, the Vandal leaned in close to the giant, golden Vex. Bringing one end of the chain around either side of Midas' segmented, spine-like, white-light-illuminated neck, Kyra popped the chain back together before pulling back, letting her work of art hang like it would on any other biped.

"Well, I know Komo isn't what Merikh would call 'available', so…perhaps we'll find another Vex with similar interests. Of course, if me and Alvara are any indication, perhaps you can even find a _Guardian _you'll grow close to. Another thing the Guardians have taught me is this world is _anything _but truly how you think it is. Just when you believe that you know where everything stands, what's true and what's not, something comes in break apart your perception and show you a new angle…the only difference among us is who listens and who denies what they see." Kyra comforted, going back in for a four-armed hug out of sympathy to the morbidly-depressed Vex. Starting out looking like she was hugging an inanimate object, the giant Vex soon got his cybernetic brain around how to respond, bringing his left arm up to brace against the middle of Kyra's back.

"Perhaps….though, I won't deny Komo is _quite _the-" Midas started to figure, being cut off by a strange, high-pitched zip-like energy noise, followed by a loud explosion elsewhere in the settlement. Not physically damaging neither him nor Kyra, the explosion wasn't even in sight, but the fact of it going off was enough to alarm the Vex Manticore. Springing to an abrupt stand, Midas' quick rise knocked Kyra right off and onto her back, but the Vandal was otherwise unharmed as she got back up. Both curious, and expecting some kind of artillery attack to be the cause, the lack of subsequent explosions combined with a clinking, rattling noise had the two non-Guardians _thoroughly _confused as they stepped outside.

Stepping away from Kyra's shack to sneak a glance at the roof, the two saw what looked like green/white _fire _up there, like some kind of flaming junk had landed on the Vandal's small home. Random chunks of metal, burnt wood, and what looked to be some form of crystalline substance randomly scattered around the area, chunks of it were _still _falling, as indicated by a small nub of crystal dinging off the top of Kyra's helmet. A plume of smoke rising from a nearby building in the settlement, the building in question was a proper _building _made of concrete and metal, unlike Kyra's dinky, wood-framed and sheet-metal-paneled one-room shack. The front door being barged open, the fact that it was Niro of all people stumbling and coughing from inside gave both non-Guardians a _very _bad feeling about what happened inside.

"Niro…dare I ask what you just did?" Kyra asked as she and Midas approached, thankful for her helmet's filtration as more smoke flowed out the door where Niro came from. Still coughing his heart out, the fact that the borderline Hive-ified Warlock could still be bothered by smoke indicated that, for all the things that _didn't _abide by Nature's laws, lung irritation via smoke was one place he still had to play fair. Pulling his veil down to help breathe easier, the Warlock's ash-colored, scalded skin and tri-pattern glowing white eyes still conveyed a sense of regret, like the Warlock _knew _he did something dumb. Fortunately for him, or maybe _un_-fortunately, his possibly-crazier, but definitely less Hive-associated Warlock partner stepped out of the smoke-gushing building soon after.

"Well, we were _trying _to apply a reverse-concept…..if the Darkness can corrupt items of Light when given condensed, powerful exposure, we figured what if you take an item of the Dark and surround it with _Light_-imbued objects? We took a Knight's Cleaver, cracked it open for that crystal inside, and surrounded the crystal with talismans and other objects of power we'd juiced up with our Light. We _thought _we were gonna need all that power just to get through to it, but honestly…looks like we _might _have laid it on a bit strong." Airada explained, essentially theorizing that she and Niro had overloaded the crystal from a Knight's blade and turned it into a crystalline_ time-bomb_. Not coughing her lungs out due to actually wearing a proper, filtration-possessing Warlock helmet instead of just cloth that hid from the bottom of her eye-line to her neck like Niro does, the Stormcaller's _much _faster delivery was _greatly _needed in a time of confusion like this.

"I _told 'em _it was too much, but does _anybody _listen to the Pulse Rifle? _Nope…_all anybody ever listens to is their damned shotguns and those shitty Hawksaws. Hackjobs is more what I'd call 'em." A masculine voice spoke in everyone's heads, feeling like it was some kind of telepathic transmission from somewhere else. That somewhere else specifically being the avian skull on the barrel-end of Airada's Bad Juju rifle, the fact that her gun felt like talking again gave _no _points towards the Stormcaller seeming _normal _in any regard.

"Oh, great, your gun is _talking again…_why couldn't you use that thing instead? Perhaps blow _it _up instead of some useless crystal." Kyra suggested, admittedly biased due to the spinal shivers she got whenever that _thing _spoke in her brain. Not plotting to break the gun behind Airada's back, primarily due to the Warlock being Alvara's younger sister, the Vandal was, nonetheless, not prone to taking its side in an argument. Unfortunately, Airada had an actual, logical point to argue with rather than simply 'but I _like _this creepy, sentient, talking gun I dug out of the catacombs of the Hellmouth…'.

"Because, _Toland _made this gun. He may have been exiled for fear of coming too close to the Hive, but that's exactly it: It was just _fear_. Anybody who doesn't have their prejudices and fantastical beliefs crammed _so _far up their ass that it's comin' out their ears would _see _this thing isn't emanating Dark energy. Does it _look _kinda creepy? Sure, if you're a little kid who's scared by clean, undamaged bones strapped to a weapon. But in terms of actually being a _weapon _of the Darkness, that old Thorn Hand Cannon blows this gun _far _out of the water in terms of its power. If we were going to properly test our idea, we needed a _pure _item of the Dark, and what better place to start than a crystal that's been soaking up Darkness by sitting in Traveler-knows-where for who _knows _how long?" Airada reasoned, showing that her gun wasn't _actually _as scary as hysteria and placebo effects made it out to be.

"Yeah, what she said. That Thorn thing ruins lives, corrupts Light, and _probably _steals souls too! I just load her mag with free ammo when she kills stuff….I _used _to spout one-liners too, but she asked me to stop doing that." Bad Juju jumped in, taking _full _advantage of Airada's defense to try and help himself out. Unfortunately, while he dug himself out of the 'tool of Darkness' hole, there was still another, more embarrassing one that the gun's owner was _not _helping him win.

"That's because quipping 'Vandalized!' when I blow a Vandal's head off isn't exactly _bleeding _with originality….was it funny at first? Sure. Did it get _incredibly cheesy _and _incredibly old _very fast? _Definitely_." Airada pointed out, putting her own _gun _on blast as the flames in the bird-skull's eye-sockets simmered down to a _tiny _little ember. Bad Juju almost conveying a facial expression by how it regulated the amount of smoke and fire in its 'head' atop the barrel, the spotlight was thankfully taken off the Pulse Rifle as Niro got his composure back enough to speak on the bigger matter at hand.

"Right…more on-point, what brought _you _into this? I thought you were just some airheaded little girl who didn't know what she wanted to _do with her life_…no offense." Kyra commented, admittedly taking a step back after she realized she had called the Stormcaller a token little sister in a sense. Not bothered by the insult that effectively said she was living in her sisters' shadows, the Stormcaller almost seemed to _agree _with Kyra.

"Well, I hate to say it, but that _was _kinda my life before I met Niro…..after I dug up Bad Juju and nearly got my _head _taken off for it, I just kinda clammed up a bit. Did what the Vanguard asked, shot what they wanted me to shoot, and really didn't _bother _with pushing any boundaries since the ones I _wanted _to push would get my blueberry-colored ass kicked right out of the Tower. Now with Niro here, I figure maybe he and I can pool his knowledge and my greater access to the Tower together and _make something_ out of it. Sure, he's got Tower access, but who's going to look more suspicious poking around the Cryptarchy records for stuff involving Hive corruption? The 6' Awoken girl with the funny hairdo, or the walking burn-victim-lookin' guy with the same tri-pattern eyes as the Hive?…no offense." Airada explained, apologizing to Niro at the end for calling him a burn victim/saying he just _looked _suspicious.

"None taken, the biases in the Tower truly _would _impede me if it were me digging up that info….with her, she just has to dial herself back and she'll glide right under their radar. I'll admit, she's no Toland, but she's _just _open-minded and crazy enough to agree with my long-term plan. Care to explain it so they'll actually _listen? _If _I _do it, they'll just think I've gone mad." Niro requested, looking to his _slightly _less suspicious colleague to help him out here. Admittedly not as convincing as, say, Caldwell explaining it, Airada being the lesser of two suspicious individuals on the matter of Hive dealings made her the best candidate on-hand.

"Well, we're _starting _with just trying to purify crystals and see if it's even _possible _to sap the Darkness out of something and replace it with Light. Our _long-term _plan is a bit more involved with the Hive….Niro believes that, due to what the Hive Worms did to _him_, making him look all…._Hive-ey_…that the Hive were once a different, neutral race instead of this Darkness-seething race of rickety bones and flakey skin that they are now. Once we know the process _works_, we were gonna go ask Midas if his Vex people could gain access to any Transfer-Gates spanning back to _wherever _or _whenever _the _old _Hive came from, back when they were neutral. Take some samples, maybe dig up a grave or two, and then go use the breeding vats that the Servo Flayers bred their Hybrids like Kudac out of to try and make our own, home-grown Light-aligned Hive race." Airada laid out, doing so with enough care that it didn't _immediately _sound terrible.

"The logic behind it was that, at its core, the Darkness and the Light are equal in measure. They're neutralizing, perfectly equivalent opposites, like Yin and Yang. The only reason humanity _lost _so bad and is on such a back-foot is, while the power sources are of equal measure, the Hive have a greater _grasp _on the Dark than the Eliksni or humanity do on the Light. They've had it longer, they understand it better, and they know how to use their side of this balance to a greater effect, hence their seemingly extreme power compared to us. Perhaps it truly _is _just time, or perhaps something about the Hive physiology makes them _sponges _to this kind of power. Easier time accepting it, more adaptable with it, and an overall better conduit for the energies of Light and Dark than human, Eliksni, Awoken, Exo, Vex, or Cabal. As such, we want to see if Light-powered Hive would be similarly extreme in power to the Darkness Hive." Niro supplemented Airada's explanation, proving that their idea was rooted in math and theory rather than some mad bid for power.

"While I sincerely _doubt _the Vex struck _that _far out and _that _far back, I admittedly don't _know _where the Hezen Initiative have gone since our conflict with them, so it truly is a possibility…it'll take a _long _time to properly identify these Proto-Hive in the slew of places the Vex could've visited, but if we can breach into their network, I'll commit people to finding it. While your current results _do _speak to this cause being….._daring _at best, the Hive _do _have an exceptional understanding of power, so if we can make use of that, I'm willing to contribute." Midas admitted, throwing his hat in the ring with the two Warlocks. Admittedly not _having _a metaphorical hat of any real use to throw in herself, Kyra instead showed her support by remaining silent rather than opposing the trio. Not knowing where to carry the conversation next, that problem was thankfully alleviated when the Stranger walked over, having a completely different topic to raise.

"Caldwell just called in, Variks and the Awoken believe Skolas is making his move on the House of Earth…..he's already got everyone up and mobilized, and they'll be swinging by here to come get us in about fifteen minutes. I just woke Kudac up, so get your things and be ready for-…oh, Airada, when did you get here?" The Stranger explained, evidently having missed the Warlock's arrival as she stepped out of the building opposite Niro and Airada's now-exploded test-room. Still wearing the _same _odd, skintight getup, half-chest-concealing cloak and exposed right arm from when the Fireteam first met her, the Stranger _could _completely do away with it and wear generic Hunter armor to blend in, but for some reason, the time-traveling Exo chose not to. Instead hiding out here with the others to avoid being picked apart by curious Cryptarchs, the Stranger was the main line of communication, along with Niro, between the Guardian and non-Guardian elements of Komodo when said elements were away from each other.

"Not _too _long ago…can you tell we've been busy?" Airada chuckled, making a thumbs-up gesture with the thumb pointing back over her shoulder to point at the smoking, wrecked building behind her. Killing any potential for a quick comeback by sounding like she found it _funny _that she blew the roof off the building, the Stormcaller thankfully had a different topic, albeit a less important one, to drive the conversation forward. "Wait a minute: Kudac was _sleeping?! After _we blew the lid off this place?"

"Of course she was: She's a Cabal, what were you _expecting?"_ The Stranger joked, poking fun at the Cabal's war-involved nature to imply that Kudac was _used _to sleeping through the sounds of explosions and artillery fire. Understanding it was a joke, the Stormcaller couldn't help but admit, to a certain degree, the Stranger probably had an actual, valid, _factual _point about it. The Decurio Hybrid thankfully not being within earshot to hear them joking about her sleep-tolerances, Airada and the Stranger cut the conversation anyway due to how imminently they'd be parting ways.

"Fair point…either way, Niro, you get goin' with them to go make friends with some more Fallen. _I'm_ going to see if I can round up some more minor artifacts to test out Light on and see if I get anywhere _without _killing myself….._again_." Airada suggested, sounding like her delayed reaction in exiting the building to begin with was due to being killed in the crystal-explosion, then regenerating on the spot via her Ghost. Giving a minor back-pat as a silent response, Niro parted ways with the Stormcaller, walking off to go get his Scout Rifle and other things before the Guardians got here. Everyone else splitting up in short order, Kyra couldn't help but wonder about how quickly she got over an explosion triggered by powers she barely understood going off in her technical backyard. Not sure whether to credit it to personal insanity or insanity rubbed off from those she surrounded herself with, _both _was the Eliksni's leading conclusion for the time being.

_Four hours later, above the Grand Canyon, Colorado, USA…._

All of Komodo's Jumpships cruising in formation towards the Grand Canyon, this previously unexplored region of the States was pure, blind territory that, from an aerial point of view, looked largely barren. That point of view soon being shattered by the sight of Skiffs buzzing to and fro around different points of the canyon, there were even _massive _sinkholes dug into the ground around the outside of the canyon itself, which looked to be landing bays of sorts for full-size Ketch ships. Unsure of how to approach the scenario, the Fireteam was collectively hailed by a foreign radio frequency coming from the area below them. Seeming Fallen in origin, and most likely connected to the Skiffs flying around, the signal wasn't an open comm-line, but rather a transmission of coordinates. Sounding like whoever was broadcasting the signal _wanted _Komodo to land, the team hesitantly complied, diving in low towards a specific point within the canyon.

Looking like a makeshift landing pad carved into the side of the canyon, the Fireteam transmatting out of their ships let them look around and realize there was an entire _city _in here. Fallen walking to and fro, carrying supplies, conversing, all the elements of a full-blown, functioning society. Almost seeming like an in-the-wall version of the Suns' stone-city they have in Africa, the fact that these Fallen wore light brown capes and had light brown on their armor where the Suns had orange, the Devils had red, etc. told the Fireteam that this was most definitely _not _just some satellite-settlement tied to the Suns. Despite that, a familiar helmet was among the ones greeting them.

"You're Fireteam Komodo, correct? My name is Vyniks, Captain of the House of Earth and confidant to the Kell." A Captain with the Archon Priest-archetype helmet and a concealing, brown half-cloak covering his right arm greeted the Fireteam cordially, actually placing his upper left fist over his chest as he took a small bow in welcoming them. Both his lower hands clasped behind his lower back as he returned to an upright stance, the greeting was suspicious not for his curiosity, but because the red-armored freelance Fallen Killian was standing just a small ways behind him, along with some indistinct Earth Fallen. Not raising their guns as they collected behind Caldwell, there _was, _nonetheless, a strong suspicion as to _why _Killian was here.

"Nice to meet you….I take it Killian here gave ya our introduction?" Barrett spoke up first, rifle pointing down towards the floor as he lightly jerked his head to gesture in Killian's direction. With Vyniks turning to face their respirator-breathing friend, the mercenary-Fallen didn't even try to hide as he stepped up to the front, all four hands on his belt like a true cowboy.

"Well, if you were bunch'a idiots who'd buy anything I say, I'd say I was just passin' through town and happened to mention you at the right time. Truth is Raylik's gotten in touch with that Variks fella, and he just so _happened _to tell her that Skolas' boys were gonna come through here. I was on-hand, and she sent me ahead to make peace for all'a ya so your landing would be quick and easy. That way, we can make sure the only people dyin' today are Wolves. So, is everyone friends?" Killian asked, opening all four arms up to point his left two at Komodo and his right two at the Earth Fallen, trying to be the bridging element between the two groups. The Fireteam easing up slightly, things went through a small topic-shift as a loud, seemingly defective Servitor sputtered by in the background, led by a few Vandals and Dregs.

"Uhm…what's with that Servitor?" Kyra couldn't help but inquire, taking her upper right hand off her Wire Rifle's pistol-grip to point at the defective Servitor. Whining and whirring in elevating and decreasing pitch, the flying ball-bearing was being warily guided by its Fallen escort, who had their hands up and were cautiously approaching and backing off, almost like they were dealing with a wild animal. Even causing small fluctuations in its front similar to a Prime's vortex-attack, the broken Servitor wasn't causing any active damage, but rather looking like it was having a system meltdown.

"We're not sure….it was out on patrol, up on the surface with its crew, and the Captain said it wandered off just slightly. When they found it, it was doing _this_. We haven't gotten a chance to properly reign it in and pick it apart really…we were more concerned with disabling its weapon systems so it wasn't spitting Void blasts all over the place. You think you can mess with it?" Vyniks explained, giving a _slightly _exasperated tone that sounded like he was open to just about any solution at this point. All heads turning on Kyra due to the Captain's suggestion, Komodo's little Eliksni wasn't beaming with pride, but nonetheless stepped up to the idea.

"Well, I wasn't a Splicer, but I feel like I know a thing or two about Servitors…sure, I'll take a look at it." Kyra agreed, stepping out of the group to try and follow the Earth Fallen escorting this depraved Servitor. The slow, peaceful day demeanor going away in an instant, the sound of nearby Fallen Skiffs blasting in made even Vyniks jump, indicating it wasn't just some expected occurrence around here. The Earth Captain running to the edge of their landing platform, the signature blue detailing of the Wolves could be seen on a number of inbound Skiffs that quickly took to landing pad except theirs. Skolas _himself _not being present, the Wolf Kell did, nonetheless, send a couple large ambassadors to do his deeds for him this time. Said ambassadors touching down at a landing pad below and across the chasm from them, Killian recognized _both_ of them.

"Kughlahätte (Fuck)….doesn't look like Skolas wanted to turn up in person after Germany, so instead, he sends Taniks and Ghaniks. I've worked with Ghaniks too…" Killian mumbled on the end, sounding like he was disappointed to see a potential friend working on Skolas' payroll. Most of the Fireteam recognizing Taniks, the roughly 10', broad-shouldered beast of an Eliksni named Ghaniks was a mystery to most of them.

"I recognize Taniks, but uh…who's the other guy? Friend?" Merikh wondered, mostly knowing Taniks due to Cayde's bone to pick with the giant merc after Taniks killed Andal Brask. Admittedly liking the thought of getting revenge on Cayde's behalf, the Hunter couldn't deny Ghaniks posed a visible threat. Forgoing the typical Fallen body-structure, Ghaniks was brutishly thick and tanky instead of lithe and agile, with bell-bottomed feet that were wide enough to crush a collection of heads at the foot, but pulled inward near the top to be in line with a beefy, but not comically thick thigh. The legs looking to be mechanical in nature, Ghaniks' augmentations only seemed to be his actual legs and lower arms, not _everything _except his upper torso and head like Irixi the bladed tonfa-wielding Iron Fallen from Germany.

Lacking any kind of a cape, Ghaniks instead went for a double-down on heavy armor, only having a knee-reaching square loincloth on the front and back of his belt-line to account for cloth on his armor. His chestplate being a denser, thicker, more heavily armored version of a Captain's chestplate, the only untouched, non-custom element of this dark red-painted Fallen was his Skolas-style helmet, albeit lacking the fur Skolas wore around his neck. The upper arms oddly concealed by what looked to be a singular cover-piece, they were the most unsettling element of Ghaniks' setup. Conforming to the length and shape of his arms, the layered, back-swept angular pattern on the outside of his arms almost looked like Ghaniks had manufactured sleeves enhanced with WarSat tech, similar to the Titan ACD/0 Feedback Fence. Potentially having gotten the idea from a dead Titan wearing said Feedback Fence, the black-angular upper arms were thicker than a normal 10' Fallen, with big hands that looked like they could wrap around a Captain-Fallen's head.

His lower arms being a different story, these were normal Fallen-sized hands, but aside from being visibly mechanical, they _also _had the quirk of splitting at the elbow, giving Ghaniks two lower biceps, but four forearms and four hands to work with. Both arms forking into a Y-pattern at the elbow, the need for _four _small lower-hands was potentially to offset his giant upper hands, especially for the matter of grabbing ammo out of his multiple belt and thigh-mounted pouches. His weapon being an equally custom monstrosity, in its most _basic _form, it resembled a break-action double-barrel shotgun, but true to Ghaniks' presentation, it was _anything _but simple.

The two massive barrels possessing a pair of silver revolver-cylinders behind them, just in front of the paddle-lever to operate the break-action, Ghaniks in essence had a double-barrel with twelve shots at his disposal, or six if he fired both barrels at once. The weapon looking like a flat-out Eliksni design simply inspired by human weaponry rather than a conversion like some of the Iron's weaponry, the giant shotgun was big enough to nicely fit Ghaniks' upper hands, with the bulldozer-Fallen currently propping the top of it on his right shoulder as he and Taniks exited their Skiff.

"A massive Eliksni who could put one of your Titans through a wall is what he is….I _thought _he didn't care about this war with Skolas, but it seems greed got the better of him. If I may, Guardians, I'd rather be with whoever goes to fight Ghaniks, perhaps we can talk some sense into that boulder." Killian suggested, watching as Taniks and Ghaniks split up to cover different areas of the vast Earth network. Taniks actually warping back into their Skiff to fly off to a separate area entirely, one of the Fireteam's Ghosts was able to designate the vehicle, but they had to move fast if they intended to actually _catch it_.

"We're gonna need to split up…I'll take half the team, you take the other half, and we take one big Fallen each?" The Stranger suggested, possibly taking charge to compensate for her outright disappearance at the bottom of the ocean back in Greece. Giving it a quick moment of thought, Caldwell was quick to OK the plan, albeit with one odd decision.

"Sounds like a plan: Kudac, Carwyn, Killian, Riksis and Midas, go with her. Kyra, crack that Servitor and see if it holds some sort of info Skolas wants. The rest of you, follow me. _Move it!_" Caldwell instructed, admittedly palming both Midas _and _Riksis off to the Stranger instead of both teams taking one due to how much more visibly tanky Ghaniks was compared to Taniks. With Merikh, Barrett, Niro and Alvara following the Exo Warlock on their pursuit of Taniks' skiff, the Earth Captain Vyniks had some important info to share in regards to how this large sub-group was getting across the chasm.

"Before you go, take some of these: We use them to get across the chasms, and we always have spares on-hand for non-Earth visitors to use. Even our Kell gets around this way, so it should hold your Archon's weight." Vyniks informed, bringing the group's attention to a rack of small, metal devices set up against a support-pillar, just to the right of the landing pad. Looking like a pair of metal handles with a series of gears in-between, the strange little objects seemed to go with the criss-crossing network of black cables that linked both sides of the chasm like a series of zip-lines. Closer attention revealing even some cable car-looking shuttles puttering back and forth across the cables, this method was both faster and closer than running off to a cable-car for getting across. "Just follow their lead, they'll show you how to get across."

Some of the Earth Fallen that joined Vyniks in his greeting party taking that as their cue, every one of them had this same device strapped to their lower back, for which they quickly passed their guns into their lower hands and took both handles in their upper hands. Running at the landing pad, every one of them, from the two Captains to six Vandals and ten Dregs, all leapt off the landing pad like madmen before latching their little gear-devices onto the zipline, sliding down the length of it to make it over to Ghaniks. Not seeming choppy or sketchy, the fluidity with which they made their leaps of faith gave even Riksis some hope as they grabbed size-appropriate versions of this zipline-rider.

"Seems interesting, but I've got my own methods….see you over there." Kudac teased, running at the landing pad and leaping off without a zipline-rider, only to engage her wing suit and glide right off to their destination. Even tucking into a ball once she was over land and kicking a Wolf Vandal between the eyes, the little Decurio made a poignant, albeit safe landing as the crew of Earth Fallen ran a distraction while she sought cover. The rest of the Stranger's group going one by one, the less-daring Fireteam took the slower approach as each one was helped up by Riksis, latching on at the incredibly high point where the cable was still over solid ground rather than make a leap of faith like the Earth crew did. Everyone making a safe landing, the proud, tanky Ghaniks didn't flee despite the overwhelming odds.

"Great, looks like he wants a fight…if he refuses to hear reason, then don't feel bad about killing him." Killian permitted, resigning himself to the fact that some souls simply didn't wish to be saved as he watched Ghaniks hoist his shotgun straight up to the ceiling before beating his chest twice with his upper left hand. The quick chest-pound causing a small eruption of sparks around the point of impact, the giant Fallen didn't seem to gain power from it, but it _did _nonetheless prove his WarSat-inspired gauntlets were more than just for show. Already opening fire with his double-barrel shotgun, one blast let loose both barrels, sending a massive flurry of molten junk downrange at them. Carrying a burnt smell as it whizzed by, even at a distance the gun seemed to have enough spread to cause credible damage to some of Komodo's smaller members.

Quick followup shots coming thanks to his gun's dual-cylinder-fed design, the Stranger regrettably couldn't find a good opportunity to turn the situation around as she glanced at the environment. This landing-area essentially just being smoothed-over stone artfully carved out be like a functional structure, the predominantly stone design was just _augmented _with metal struts, doorways, light fixtures, and other metal elements in the otherwise dusty-tan area. Not seeing any wobbly or weak scaffoldings she could pick off to dump junk on Ghaniks' head, the team's only option was to use the _multitude _of Fallen crates and containers, ranging from the average-sized ones to massive shipping containers stolen from human ruins, to try and outflank and outplay the big brute. Taking some shots at his head anyway, just out of curiosity, the Stranger found Ghaniks' exceptionally annoyed reaction, coupled with removing his upper left hand from his gun to hide his face, to indicate that said helmet _wasn't _some absurdly-armored bucket designed to headbutt Anti-Tank munitions.

"Looks like his helmet's a bit flimsy…..see if you can get some side-angles on him, or maybe target his Ether! Those two tubes have to lead somewhere!" The Stranger called out, wishing she'd brought a Scout Rifle, a Sniper Rifle, or really _any _gun except her unique, yellow Pulse Rifle to try and scope out Ghaniks' body for another weak-spot. Her best guess being the two tubes linking into his helmet, just like Skolas had, the time-traveling Exo's best strategy was 'poke it with a stick, see what works'. Carwyn trying his best to creep up on the side, the giant Fallen was onto the Defender Titan's moves, raising his left fist above his head before slamming it into the floor. The orange lights between the plate on his arms going away, Ghaniks' stored electrical charge was dissipated in full in the form of a rushing wave of electricity, similar to a Psion's Arc Wave move.

Aiming it _right _at the Defender, the Titan had to _majorly _shift it to get out of the bomb-like Arc explosion that went off once the rushing wave of energy had come in contact with a medium-sized, Fallen-made crate. Even stumbling the Titan due to the concussive wave going off behind him, Carwyn was thankfully home-free as he got behind Riksis, who had enough bulk in his armor to properly stand up and fire amidst the Wolves and Ghaniks raining on them. Actually using a tall shipping container like it was a chest-high wall, the Archon's frustrations with the performance of a Shrapnel Launcher were becoming more apparent, the Wolves he fired at mostly ducking back into cover as the big, ugly, slow, flaming shrapnel soared at them. Killian having arguably the easiest time given his rail-accelerated Winchester rifle could put a mean, fast bullet between a Wolf's eyes before they could blink, Komodo's newest recruit was the one who broke the monotony of the fight.

The rest of the team admittedly having expected something like this given her Cabal nature, Kudac exhibited a bit more of a subtle side long enough to do what Carwyn failed to do, getting behind the Wolf front-line and clambering atop some metal shelving. Having enough room up there with the small crates to run and leap off, Kudac did so with arms outstretched and her shotgun stowed, planning on sticking to Ghaniks' heavily-armored body. Landing right on his back, the little Decurio's magnetic gloves enabled her to stick right on, one hand on each of Ghaniks' shoulders as the giant Fallen jerked around in confusion. Completely forgetting the fight in favor of wondering what the _hell _just landed on his back, some of the minor Wolves around foolishly stepped out of cover, too focused on why their leader was stomping and twirling around to focus on the rest of Komodo's sub-group.

"She's got balls…I can see why Barrett likes her!" Carwyn couldn't help but chuckle, taking advantage of the scenario to drop Dregs and riddle Vandals with his Pulse Rifle while they tried to help Ghaniks. The giant Fallen even kicking over some of his own troops by accident, the frustrated tank-Fallen was trying and failing to reach up past his shoulders to grab Kudac, who had slid into _just _the right spot on his back to where neither reaching over nor under would enable him to get a great grip on her. Using her cling-time to search for a nice vital spot, the Decurio eventually found one, letting her left hand off of Ghaniks' back to pull out her large, ceremonial dagger. Spotting where Ghaniks' helmet-mounted cables led, the Decurio split one cable before jamming her knife into the Ether-storage it linked to, shutting down the whole system.

Not running on a respirator like Killian did, Ghaniks' issue was instead the fact that, by jamming her knife into the device from which his Ether flowed, the valves on his whole setup closed down, meaning Ghaniks was getting _nothing, _neither Ether nor air. Gripping both the cables in a panic, the giant Fallen yanked them right out, engaging the back-up filters on his helmet, which opened up to enable normal, Earth-made air to flow in and restore his breathing. Seeing her little sabotage as a flub, Kudac opted next for just a good ol' stab in the abdomen, nailing the blade between the gaps in Ghaniks' armor to more directly wound him. Audibly feeling that one given his loud yell of pain, Ghaniks almost seemed to have been set off in a way, resigning himself to Kudac's presence as he set his sights on a bigger target.

Not sure if Ghaniks was _aiming _for him or just fleeing like a coward, Riksis nonetheless made sure to intercept the tanky Fallen as Ghaniks barreled into the Komodo/Earth Fallen front-line, arms outstretched as he tackled Riksis right over the edge of the canyon. Coming to rest atop a Skiff that was passing through, the Fallen aircraft wobbled and bobbed due to the heavy weight on top of it, but nonetheless didn't crash as Riksis bunted Ghaniks off with an upper-right-hand punch between the eyes. Still holding onto his shotgun, Ghaniks either wasn't thinking or didn't have more shells loaded as he instead used his shotgun like a giant, double-barreled bat, bludgeoning Riksis in the shoulder with it to try and bat the Archon off their Skiff. Kudac _still _trying to help, an attempted stab into Ghaniks' eye was thrown off when their Skiff wobbled some, bucking Kudac over Ghaniks' head and onto the roof of the Skiff.

Landing between Riksis and Ghaniks, the little Decurio was spared a stomping as their Skiff started making a noticeable descent due to all the weight on it, for which Ghaniks exited stage right. Leaping off the Skiff to land on a lower landing-pad, Riksis and Kudac tried to follow as fast as they could process what happened, albeit with some hitches on Riksis' part. Making the leap of faith like Ghaniks did, Riksis fell _just _slightly short of an on-foot landing, instead having his Shrapnel Launcher skid onto the ground while he was left hanging onto the edge. Kudac making it over safer due to her wingsuit, the human-sized Cabal had to make _good _use of her big-Cabal genes, grabbing Riksis' upper right arm and helping him crawl onto solid ground.

"Why do I always get the big ones….." Riksis couldn't help but mumble as he and Kudac chased Ghaniks, making note of how it was him and Airada who fought Skolas in Germany, and now it was him and Kudac who would take on Ghaniks here in Colorado. Snatching up his Shrapnel Launcher as they ran, Riksis was honestly surprised as he gave chase into the deeper regions of the Earth House's vast city, spotting a more recreational area filled with dimmed lighting, ornate rugs, and decorative vases of all kinds. Looking like some kind of communal area, the presence of some decorations branded with the House of the Sun logo indicated Killian most likely got in so easy due to friendly economic and social relations between the Earth and Sun Houses. Not stopping to glare at the incense-like lanterns and decorated gathering-areas _too _much, Riksis spent more time destroying them as he caught up to Ghaniks.

Reaching out and making the lunge to tackle the giant Fallen, the two of them went for another tumble, breaking some fancy vases and crushing a short table under their weight. Dropping their guns in the process, the duo found themselves in a from-behind chokehold, Riksis' larger size and strength enabling him to overpower the shorter, stockier Ghaniks and pull back on his neck with both upper arms. Proving to be a solid threat, Ghaniks' only option to break free was jamming his upper left elbow into Riksis' abdomen, letting off another electrical charge he'd built up from all the running, jumping, and riding atop a Skiff he just did. Not doing anything heinous like blowing chunks out of Riksis, the Archon nonetheless let go, slightly winded by the force of the blast.

Getting up and turning to face Riksis, the tanky Fallen merc operated on pure instinct, forgoing his weapon in favor of bringing his right foot down on Riksis' chest. Missing his head on said stomp, the big Fallen corrected his positioning and aimed for the head on the second go, giving Riksis enough time to raise his arms and brace them under Ghaniks' foot. Raising his foot to try again, the wide-footed Fallen merc got a good three stomps in, trying to crush Riksis' arms underfoot before he got a shoulder full of micro-explosives. Said explosives coming from Kudac's shotgun, some of the black WarSat-bits were ripped free from his armor as Ghaniks stopped his assault to glare at the attacker. Getting more than he expected, Ghaniks went from ready for a Decurio filet to genuinely concerned as he noticed the rest of the Stranger's sub-group having caught up.

"Ghaniks, we're gonna give you _one _chance here…get off Riksis and drop your flag. Work for us, leave, do _whatever _you want, but just _stop _workin' for Skolas. Come on brother, just give this a moment of thought and ask yourself: How much is Skolas even _paying you here?" _Killian reasoned, enhanced Winchester rifle trained right between Ghaniks' eyes and ready to brain him if he lashed out. Meaning brother in a metaphorical sense given they'd worked together before and were arguably _friends _until now, Killian seemed to actually get through to the big Fallen.

"Well, come to think of it, I _don't _know how much I'm being paid for this…he hired Taniks directly, and then Taniks fished me out lookin' for some backup. Neither of us really _care _about this war, we're just doin' it for our benefit. At least, _I _am…..I dunno about Taniks, big man seemed _really _eager to help out during the Reef Wars." Ghaniks reasoned, speaking in an uncharacteristically deep voice more on-par with Riksis despite being 5' shorter than the Archon. Almost sounding like he came to a moment of realization, it was Midas who settled the decision.

"If you don't know how much you're being paid, and are instead getting your funds through Taniks, then I believe you're being used as what I've heard Barrett call a…'side-bitch'. You're just Taniks' little helper: an afterthought to him, and _especially _to Skolas. Didn't you Fallen mercenaries leave your Houses explicitly to get _away _from Kells who don't care if you live or die?" Midas pointed out, following up his hammer-dropping human-slang sting with some actual, palatable logic that Ghaniks could get behind. Looking at the floor with his long, beefy upper arms hanging by his side, the stocky Fallen almost looked _depressed _in a way, like all his ideals had just been proven false. Letting his foot off of Riksis' chest, the stocky Fallen solemnly walked over to pick up his gun, doing so in a slow enough manner that he obviously didn't plan to use it.

"I'm glad you were around brother…..to talk some sense into me. I _almost _died for the kind'a thing I became a merc explicitly to get _away from_. Least I can do in turn is help all'a ya nail down Taniks too. Who knows, maybe we can convince him too." Ghaniks thanked as he hefted his giant shotgun up onto his right shoulder, placing his upper left-hand onto Killian's shoulder in a friendly gesture. Comically concealing Killian's entire shoulder with his giant hand, the big Fallen gave his comrade-in-arms a quick, friendly shoulder-pat before operating the break-action on his shotgun, causing the two cylinders to flick out to the right and left like a normal revolver cylinder. Outright sliding the entire two cylinders off their central rods with his lower-hands, the big Fallen fished out two loaded cylinders with those same hands, two hands fishing out the new ones while the other two deposited the spent ones in a separate pair of pouches.

Sliding the new cylinders onto the two rods where the old ones were, the large Fallen's smaller four hands then pushed the newly-loaded cylinders back inwards, locking them into place with a click before flicking the front end of the shotgun back into place. Nobody feeling threatened by the whole process, Ghaniks validated that trust by going right back into propping his gun on his right shoulder, even taking the lead as he strolled out of the rec-area he and Riksis had just trashed. Doing so at a leisurely pace, Ghaniks' sudden sense of ho-hum almost _concerned _the rest of the team, like he suddenly didn't care about the stakes at hand anymore. Fortunately, a call in from Komodo's other team gave him a renewed motivation.

"God dammit, Taniks is getting away on a Skiff! Like, he's _literally __**on **__the roof of the Skiff! _He's comin' down by you guys, probably gonna try and link up with Ghaniks!" Merikh yelled over their comm-lines, Carwyn's Ghost playing it radially for Ghaniks to hear now that he was temporarily part of the team. Seeing the big, red-clad merc surfing atop a Skiff much like Riksis and Ghaniks had done, the stocky, six-handed Fallen got an idea to take the lead, moving to greet Taniks as the latter jumped off his Skiff onto their level. Not noticing Komodo's members in the back fast enough, Taniks jumped _right _into a rising blow as Ghaniks passed his gun into his left hand, swinging his upper right fist into Taniks' abdomen to bring the big red Eliksni down.

Pushing Tanks backwards into a stone support-strut at the edge of their level, the sudden shift in direction and the force of the impact caused Taniks to drop his massive Scorch Cannon as he fell face-down in a heap. Being snatched at the neck by Ghaniks' oddly large, long-fingered hands before he could do anything, the Scarred Fallen was dragged a small distance away from the ledge before Ghaniks forced him face-down against the floor, bracing one flat foot against Taniks' back and pressing both barrels of his shotgun into the taller Fallen's head. Not pulling the trigger for some odd reason, it turned out Ghaniks was thinking with his new friends in mind.

"If you're gonna ask him what's going on with Skolas, do it now. That Awoken Queen's probably gonna want his ass for all the dead Awoken back in the Reef Wars." Ghaniks suggested, looking at The Stranger and her allies as he made _absolutely sure _Taniks wasn't running away. Carwyn stepping up to do the interrogating, the Awoken Defender took a second to take note of the extensive damage on Taniks' armor, including multiple incendiary marks, some Void burns indicating a possible Nova Bomb strike, electrical scarring, and carved-out gashes in his armor that _screamed _'Arc Blade damage'. Looking like the entirety of Caldwell's group just went to _town _on Taniks, the fact that the big, Scarred Fallen was just laying face-down and accepting his fate indicated some physical fatigue probably went with that ass-whooping he got.

"Right….so, Skolas: What's he planning? He's not gonna just round up followers and run off to his own little corner of the Solar System, so where's he going? Did he plan out anything in advance for you to help him with? You know…decisive strikes against the Awoken, or the City?" Carwyn pseudo-interrogated as he got down on one knee to try and look Taniks in the eye. Not very good at the angry, aggressive, unpredictable interrogator act, the Awoken Defender instead tried to sound appealing and friendly, hoping to bait Taniks into a sense of security by not talking down to him in any way. Surprisingly enough, Taniks outright spilled it.

"The Veil of the Hezen Conflux, Dust Basin, Mars…he's gonna try and get at a legendary Vex inside, see if he can control it…bring the Wolves back through time to their full strength. If you kill that Vex, Skolas is pretty much hopeless." Taniks explained through slightly exasperated breaths, sounding about as worn-out as he looked. Finding the random info-dump Taniks so willingly gave to be a bit odd, the fact that he was a mercenary and not a dedicated Wolf caused the suspicion to be quickly written off.

"I _think _I remember some mention of that…some of the Blind Legion we accepted mentioned a Veil of the Hezen Conflux, something about translated data mentioning a Vex called Karkinos, the Timedancer. If I had to guess, it might be a regulatory element the Vex are testing that Skolas thinks he can control to pull those Wolves out of thin air. We kill it, we kill his reinforcements." Kudac noted, understandably taking the 'break it' option rather than giving _any _thought to the possible benefits of a so-called 'Time Dancer' being on _their_ side instead of Skolas'. Everyone turning to Midas next for an opinion, the big Vex's long absence and lack of being an enemy turncoat meant he didn't have much to give.

"This so-called TImedancer wasn't an established unit or role from before me and my kind were sectioned off by Vudron….it's either some kind of role the Hezen Initiative developed after our little schism, or it's a unique, one-off experiment they're conducting. Either way, I see no issue following the little armadillo's plan and simply killing it." Midas reasoned, not having any grandiose warnings about the fabric of time itself or some-such nonsense in regards to just killing this Karkinos thing. Not _perfectly _reassuring given he didn't even know a Timedancer _existed _at the start of the day, he was still the closest thing to an authority on the subject of toying with time that Komodo had on-hand.

"_Little Armadillo?" _Kudac repeated with a slightly suspicious tone, only not visibly raising one eyebrow at the big Manticore Vex due to her concealing Psion-offshoot-style helmet. Not outright taking _offense _to it, the odd habit Kudac began to notice about Guardians likening Cabal to hard-plated animals, and small ones at that, was understandably getting _very _old _very _fast.

"Well, I never quite agreed with the Guardian assessment that you Cabal are like Space Turtles, given you lack their lackadaisical pace and are not aquatic in any manner. On the contrary, many of you Cabal are durable, resilient creatures, and you in particular take a fondness for tucking into a ball when coming out of your wingsuit-gliding, much like a rolled-up armadillo. If the name offends you, I can cease to mention it further." Midas offered, not sure of Kudac's final stance on the matter. Seeming slightly _confused _still, it was most likely just a cultural hurdle they'd need to get over with time.

"It truly doesn't matter, I just wish I knew what either of those creatures looked like….." Kudac noted offhand, not knowing what either a turtle _or _an armadillo looked like in any way. Not planning on drilling the Manticore for further info, things took an odd turn when the rest of Komodo showed up, only to stop in confusion when they saw a distinctly-not-dead Ghaniks pinning down and holding Taniks at gunpoint. Not jumping to conclusions, the group simply approached with hesitation, looking to be closer to their own members than to Ghaniks out of pure suspicion.

"So, uh…made friends with the big guy after all, huh? Was it all Killian, or are you just gettin' a knack for buddying up with Fallen now?" Merikh teased in a friendly manner, lightly punching Carwyn in the shoulder as a means to innocently poke fun at the Defender Titan's distinctly _opposite _demeanor to Barrett. Aside from Barrett's oddly profound interest in helping Kudac feel 'integrated' and a true part of the team, usually Carwyn was the open-minded borderline philosopher with a strong interest in new knowledge, _especially_ cultural knowledge, while Barrett just made sure whatever tried to kill him and his allies died first. "Don't worry about filling us in though: Your Ghost let us hear the whole Timedancer chat over comms on our way over."

"Ghaniks here was all Killian's work, but I'd say I'm getting good at it…now, if you can avoid pissing off any more ancient Hive Kings, maybe we can make friends with one of them too." Carwyn joked back, not holding any resentment or lingering annoyance after the 'popping bubbles' comment made before their dive near Chios. Regrettably hardly knowing each other, the light, slightly generic banter was the best either Guardian could awkwardly muster in their attempts to get a bit closer to one-another. Mostly motivated by how well the non-Guardian elements were getting along, as well as Barrett, Alvara and Caldwell's great relations with Kudac, Kyra and the Stranger respectively, the two were thankfully able to divert their awkward pause when Kyra rejoined them, riding in atop a slow-moving Servitor.

"Servitor's good as new…..turns out it was just some random junk stuck in a bad spot, probably happened while trying to process some of that junk into Ether." Kyle explained as she hopped off the top of the Servitor, having rode it across the chasm like a slow shuttle. The craze and hysteria of battle swiftly dying down around them, it didn't take long for everyone to notice how quickly the Wolves were being dispersed, almost like Skolas had undershot on his troops once again. Possibly not _having _many troops left, which would give ample reason to pursue this Karkinos being, it mostly gave validity to the idea that they should chase it as well.

"In that case, Vyniks is probably gonna welcome all of you back any time you want, especially between that and fighting off the Wolves….as for me, I'm gonna head back home and see about getting Ghaniks on Raylik's good side, maybe the big girl'll have something for him to do. First, though: What are we doing about Taniks here?" Killian figured, not quite intent to just murder Taniks and call it done. Unluckily for the Scarred Fallen, murder was the more pleasant fate compared to what Fate really had in store for him.

"Well, word just got out to Petra about what happened…..Ghaniks is free to go, but Petra's sending some Awoken all the way out here to help secure the area from any remaining Wolves and arrest Taniks, sounds like the Queen wanted him for their Prison. Mind staying around until they show up, just to keep Taniks right where he is?" Caldwell requested, not sharing the brief word his Ghost also put in to the Vanguard about this Karkinos figure due to not knowing how much of a security-risk two freelance Fallen mercs might be. Taking the diplomatic route by _also _keeping that suspicion to himself, it seemed that the more time Caldwell spent with the Stranger, the more open-minded and careful about burning bridges the Exo Warlock got as well.

"Considering none of you just decided to brain me when I could'a killed Riksis, it's the least I can do in return…..shame Tanks here has to go out like that though." Ghaniks agreed, effectively saying he _expected _the Scarred Fallen to die in the Prison of Elders. Not having any further plans to discuss until the Vanguard could process this information about Karkinos and make a collective decision, the fact that Taniks simply laid there, wordless and accepting his fate was once again odd, shifty, and fairly suspicious, but went unquestioned by the team holding him hostage.

_Hours later, about the Wolfship Kaliks-Fel, somewhere in space….._

Hiding and waiting adrift in space, the Wolves' small, ramshackle fleet, comprised primarily of re-branded Ketches and Skiffs, was on the back-foot in nearly every way possible. One particular Fireteam, including a few Fallen members, had utterly ruined Skolas' chances at firsthand persuading both the House of the Sun _and _the House of Iron, and other groups of Guardians had slaughtered the Silent Fang he sent to subjugate the House of Devils. Having heard just earlier today that his trusted friend, confidant and Wolf Baron Yavek had died in an attack by some other Guardian team while trying to negotiate with the House of Kings, the so-called Kell of Kells' already-terrible day was only going to get worse from here. One of his _other _trusted friends, Grayor, approaching the giant Kell on the bridge of their ship, he had enough tact to verify Skolas' mental state before he possibly drops a bomb on the Kell's day.

"Great view out here….still taking your mind off Yavek, sir?" Grayor tried to open up with small-talk, almost made _more _uncomfortable by how Skolas merely stood there, silent and contemplative on the small observation-platform just above some of the pilot's terminals. Actually feeling like walking in on Skolas screaming, swinging and breaking something would be more comforting, the fact that Skolas sat so idly by meant the Wolf Assassin didn't know _what _to expect out of Skolas' brain, it was all mysteries and maybes for the little Vandal. Holding back at the top of the stairs leading onto Skolas' platform, the nimble-minded assassin already planned out where he'd dive for cover should Skolas utterly snap and lash out at him, not in some bid to take Skolas down, but rather simply to preserve his own life in a worst-case scenario. Fortunately, the 20' Kell of Kells was as level-headed as he looked right now.

"There's no need to call me sir, Grayor…..you've been a reliable, close ally and friend even before Virixas died. You can call me by name, and come closer while you're at it…." Skolas essentially invited in an oddly depressed, somber tone, raising his left hands as a gesture to come stand by his side. Not commenting on Yavek directly, the fact that Skolas' usual confident, bombastic, aggressive fire was blatantly not present told Grayor 'Yes, I'm still bothered about Yavek'. Coming closer, the Vandal Assassin didn't _like _the thought of what he had to say next, but nonetheless felt obligated to say it to his friend and leader.

"Well, the House of Earth was a bust…Korin (Killian) was sighted in the area, and that Fireteam Komodo greatly thwarted our efforts. Ghaniks turned on us, possibly at Korin's behest, and Taniks has been captured by the Awoken. No word on if he'll be executed or simply put in the Prison, but I'm sure if we act fast, I could potentially get him out of there now that the Awoken are in such a state of disarray." Grayor suggested, knowing that while Taniks wasn't _quite _up at his or Yavek's level of being trusted by Skolas, the 15' Fallen Merc was still a useful ally during the Reef Wars, and might be worth saving in the Kell's eyes. The 'state of disarray' Grayor mentioned specifically being the Prince's missing status, as well as a large quantity of the Awoken Fleet being destroyed by Oryx's Dreadnaught, the opportunistic little Vandal could no doubt circumvent their understaffed and overworked defenses to try and break Taniks out, should Skolas so desire it.

"No, not at this point….you, Drevis and Pirsis are just about the only close allies I have left. I know you wish to utilize your skills as best you can, but at this stage in our war with the City, with the Awoken…I don't think I can manage this without all of you." Skolas admitted, oddly lowering himself in preparation to sit down on the platform. Grayor stepping back to give his Kell some room, the large Fallen, sure enough, slowly lowered himself down to sit cross-legged on the platform. Skolas even pulling his helmet off, Grayor got close enough to peer over Skolas' massive back-mounted horns, watching as the Kell stared contemplatively at the front of his own helmet. "Funny…..not long ago, I thought this was a face to fear. The visage of our race's savior, the one who'd carry us all to the Great Machine as one once more, but now? I don't know if it's even a face to fear death from…..you think they were mistaken? Was _I _mistaken?"

"Was who mistaken?" Grayor wondered, not quite following Skolas' point. Mostly confused by how the giant Fallen talked about his wide, armored helmet as a 'face' all its own, staring it down in his hands, Skolas had been less-than-stable for a long time, but Grayor was now thoroughly convinced the Kell of Kells had transcended past just 'crazy' all the way into hysterically insane. Thoroughly believing Skolas was the one who'd lead them to salvation, the fact that Grayor's beliefs were being challenged by the very Eliksni he _believed in_ was throwing the Vandal Assassin for a loop.

"The House of Rain…..after all, all of this goes back to their prophecy, about he who would lead our race to salvation, unite the Houses and save our race from the strife the Whirlwind brought about. It's a shame I couldn't seek their approval directly, before they were obliterated in that great disaster….I've carried the conviction that I _am _the one they speak of all this time, that it's _my _destiny to save us all, but…if it was _truly _my fate, why have I suffered such losses so far? The Suns, the Devils, the Kings, now the Earth….all have successfully rejected my advances. Only the Winter have accepted, and _they _could very-well have done so simply because Draksis perished. If Draksis were alive, if he could meet me face to face, would he have agreed much like his House did?" Skolas wondered, effectively eating himself alive with doubt at this late stage in their campaign. Understandably not being helped by this news of the Earth's successful defense against Taniks and the Wolves, Grayor was primarily concerned for his Kell's physical safety, lest the Kell of Kells throw in the towel in more ways than one.

"Perhaps the House of Bone will be more easily convinced…after all, they've heavily dedicated themselves to combating the decaying monstrosities that helped tear us down. Now with this Oryx among them in the Solar System, perhaps they'll see the value in joining us against a common enemy." Grayor reasoned, grasping at straws to cheer up his Kell and friend. Placing a hand on one of Skolas' back-mounted horns, the Vandal had never done so before, and _quickly _retracted his hand upon feeling a strange, almost numbing buzz in the hand in question not long after making contact. Feeling like his hand had fallen asleep, the Vandal also felt a quick rush of hushed, whispering words in his head, including the phrase 'bearer mine', which the Vandal had not the slightest idea towards the meaning of. Not making prolonged enough contact to continue hearing whispers, the Vandal couldn't help but wonder if these demented horns had contributed to Skolas' strange mental state compared to his time as a Captain, back during the Reef Wars.

"No, we're not going after them yet….we've failed to make an impression against _every _House we've dealt with so far. For now, we're focusing on the Timedancer…we have the technology in question to revive our House, but that Timedancer is the only thing in our way. Once that hitch is resolved, perhaps with our restored numbers we can make the House of Bone a convincing offer." Skolas reasoned, making mention back to the Vex tech Grayor and Drevis had stolen from various Vex installations on Venus. The tech in question oddly being tied to this Timedancer despite all signs indicating the Timedancer's presence on Mars, the linkage between the two meant that, without resolving the Timedancer lockout, their stolen tech was effectively a multitude of paperweights.

"Well, the Cabal are making their own efforts to attack the Timedancer's tomb, and I'm sure that Fireteam Komodo will figure out our interest in the machine sooner rather than later. If they manage to _control _the Timedancer somehow, all our plans go out the window…..I know you wouldn't want me risking my life for Taniks, but: Permission to carry out an assassination or two?" Grayor requested, painfully unsure of what this Fireteam might do to the Timedancer once they seek it out. Fortunately, Skolas was more reasonable in this regard than he was about Taniks.

"Yes, but take Drevis and Pirsis with you…I have faith in you, but our House's remaining members seem to not be made of the brightest souls around. I'd rather you have a pair of tried and tested warriors by your side rather than just whatever random fools you can round up by chance." Skolas conceded, unable to deny the 'baseline' of their House was a mishmash of fairly unimpressive idiots at times. Having _far _more faith in Drevis and Pirsis than just whatever opportunistic Vandal Grayor could round up, the Kell knew he was putting all his remaining friends in one place, but he figured it was a worthwhile risk given it reduced the chances of any of them dying if they all supported each other. Not knowing what else to say, the Vandal Assassin merely patted his leader on the back of the neck, making sure to avoid the horns this time, and took his leave from the bridge. Thinking to himself, Skolas heard a question, but not from a Fallen, not even himself:

_Are you not confident, oh bearer mine?_

Author's Note:

(Pre-note: if you only care about commentary on this chapter in particular, skip to the sixth paragraph)

So, to begin, one of the biggest things I wanted to mention was that the _obscenely _long wait, for those who aren't following me as an author, was due to trying to rewrite all 10 chapters of a different story of mine to try and correct errors, improve the overall quality, etc. etc. because in the end, I care about/worry about the quality and impression I make when somebody reads what I write, which is why I've strayed from some stories for the time being, and taken the time to try and enhance others, as I just did. I'll be doing the same thing with American Monsters next (Which I, admittedly, almost like even _more _than this story by a small margin just for the sake of what I can do. It's like my sorta fuck-around story where things can get a _little _bit more on-the-nose absurd without it being a problem), but I learned my lesson off these last rewrites, so _these _I'm actually going to tend to _while _writing the chapter instead of only bothering with them _after _the new chapter is done.

Where I'm going with that is the rewrites, why I spoil some things in advance, _and _my usual schedule for writing main chapters, which is every Thursday, are all involved in this desire to put out something people will enjoy and make an impression on. While yes, I _do _write these stories because I enjoy them (Hell, if I changed a few details and names, I could probably try and sell American Monsters as its own IP separate from the source material, but I didn't because it wouldn't be the story as I initially saw it), I also don't quite like the thought of sitting here and talking to myself in a sense, IE hardly a soul seeing what I write. I'm willing to deal with reduced viewer-quantity in favor of writing quality, which I think is caused by my slow upload times, but the viewer-quantity would be even _further _down if I'm uploading slow _and _putting out shit, because if it's a good story, at least the people who are _really _hooked will come back, but if the story sucks, nobody'll come back really.

Where this all ties together is the reason I 'spoil' things to a slight degree, as TheSwagMaster0777 pointed out, is half to try and catch people's interest, like I'm trying to catch a closing door and say "Wait wait wait, hold up! I've got (Insert spoiler-ey detail for later) in store, so please stay? :D;;;;", even though pretty much none of the reviews have ever implied a _need _to do so. It's more just my own paranoia about me being good/bad as a writer (I mean that in general, not just by FF standards, which I assume are probably judged a bit lower), which is part of why I mostly do the things _everyone _gets to see once a week: By not thinking about it much six days out of the week, my own damned paranoia doesn't eat me alive so to speak and cause me to chuck details that people would've actually liked, all because I convince myself "No, no, that sounds like crap, nobody would like that" when people actually _do _like it, which was actually the case with Sibuna as a whole, and Raylik being a female Kell. Both of those _almost _weren't in the story because I thought people might find it downright stupid, but sure enough, not a single complaint about either of them as far as I can recall.

The other half of why I do it is paranoia that, because I update so slowly, somebody's going to come around with a 100% coincidentally similar idea to mine before I can get my idea out in the public, then everyone will think I bit off x writer/artist when it was really just fluke luck, so I partially do it to 'timestamp' my ideas and be able to say "See?! I thought of this months ago!" in pre-emptive self-defense should I need it later. Hell, there were initially plans to have a _giant _Vex biped in the story, like skyscraper-sized as some God-figure in a contained sub-dimension, but I junked it entirely when I saw a Deviantart pic of what was, well, basically a gigantic Vex biped who was so big that a group of Guardians were standing on its forearm no problem. I figured it'd be a self-defense nightmare to plead innocent later, so I just dropped the idea and left it.

If I had to sum it up fast, I basically get _so _worried about _preventing _a possible complaint/problem that I end up actually causing one, as was the case with what SwagMaster said. Same thing happened in American Monsters when I spilled an explanation about a newly-introduced character's swords involving the idea of ontological power (Which was actually inspired by Destiny and the Gorgon's whole ontological weapon thing, being able to 'delete' players) to explain how the blades could cut through a tank barrel in that chapter's Author's Note instead of saving it for exposition in the next chapter, all because I wanted to try and beat any assumptions that the explanation was just "Dem blades are sharp, yo!", which could lead into some weeb accusations just because the character's armor was somewhat Samurai-esque, so on and so forth, so I kinda blew it as a 'necessary risk' to avoid a problem that hadn't actually started. Fortunately (or unfortunately) nobody's said anything on _that _since, well, the review-flow there's dead as shit even right on upload, so that hasn't become an issue anyway.

Moving on to commentary on this chapter in particular, I wanna start by mentioning that Midas' explanation for his people and origins was _so _open-ended to give reason to his cause and conflict against the enemy Vex while not being _too _detailed in order to not fuck with anybody's head-canon about the Vex. Similarly to Zer0 and Krieg's origins in Borderlands 2 (Which, that's another story I've gotta rewrite to fix up to an acceptable state, but _that _is something I'll poke at over time, it's got even more chapters than this story, so it would be _dreadfully _long if I held out all uploads until it was done), the logic "Less is better" somewhat applies. Specifically, by leaving some mystery and open-ended-ness, it's actually _better _than if you go into every last detail in-depth. As such, I leave whatever kind of race the Vex used to be, as well as their previous species name, _completely _up to the reader. Maybe you picture them being Forerunner-like semi-humans with some slight visual differences, maybe you picture them being Chozo-like bird people…hell, maybe you've got a crackpot theory that they're somehow related to the halberd-wielding Cow People from Diablo II's Cow Level. Whatever floats your boat, I don't step on it.

In regards to how Midas' whole explanation went, I was admittedly trying to gut-punch the reader a little bit, given in the past Midas has made jokes, comedic lights on scenarios, etc. etc., and now it's like "Oh, he's…actually borderline _miserable._" all of a sudden, it's always been there, he just didn't go crying about it the second he had somebody to listen to him. In addition, it shows why he's been so rigid and mechanical at times, and surprisingly fluid and organic in his speech at other times, being he _can _do that, it's just hard to remember when you've been devoid of it for so long. Sorta speaks to the idea of how hard it can be for somebody to fit in or adhere to a certain behavior when they just _didn't have that _for _so _long, possibly thousands of years in Midas' case. Also, while the Hezen Initiative is an obvious name, the Keran Collective name came about because, in researching Hezen to find out its origins, it's a Turkish word…..that means log or beam. Since that really doesn't give me _anything_, I found Keran, which is _also _a Turkish word, meaning log or beam…the two fit together as parallels, but _damn _do they not really fit with the Vex in any way other than a builder joke.

On to the highlight of the chapter in my opinion, Ghaniks was a personal challenge I issued to myself: I'll be honest, for years and years I had _no _interest in _anything _anime-related in _any _sense, but between Maximilian Dood's coverage of Guilty Gear in recent months, as well as a close friend of mine getting me started on some of the 'better' ones like Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop, I tried to challenge myself by making a Fallen who could reasonably fit in an ArcSystemWorks fighter (IE Guilty Gear and BlazBlue) while also still feeling fitting to Destiny. So, that's how I came to what is technically the story's first Fallen Midget: Big, stocky, tanky bastard who could chunk a decent amount of your health just with a simple kick, make use of elemental attacks (In this case Arc energy via his makeshift Feedback Fence gauntlets) and has an absurd gun, specifically his dual-cylinder double-barrel.

Cylinder-fed shotguns _do _exist, specifically the Russian MTs-255 shotgun, but _this _felt like Demolition Ranch saying "You know what'd be better than _one _cylinder shotgun? _Two _cylinder shotguns!", which was part of how the idea came about. There were some other ideas me and my friends kicked around, including some Siegfried-esque Shock Broadsword and some idea about a melee weapon/shotgun modular combo that got scrapped for not being able to figure out how the hell to describe it, and even then the final gun isn't exactly as we first pictured it: I was initially gonna stick some Borderlands 2 Sledge's Shotgun-looking butcher blade on the bottom, but left that off in order to not feel _too _similar to those guns. In regards to overall inspirations that drove his design, the biggest things were the songs Give Me a Break, The Tuner, and Engage, all from the Guilty Gear soundtracks. If Youtube has the originals taken down, gvgkid's remixes do the job _just _fine to get the point across, and is actually kinda _better _with the latter two songs, but the big point is it all fit to convey that sense of "If any Fallen is gonna shoulder-charge through a concrete wall, it's this guy". And, like I said, he's technically a midget: He _should _be 15' tall like Taniks and Riksis, he takes in enough Ether to be that tall, but he's genetically gimped like a human midget, so he's short with huge hands, he's just more physically capable because gimped for him is still huge for humans.

Moving on to the House of Earth very briefly, they're another something that's been in the list for a _long _time, since about mid-December last year/Early January this year I'd say, somewhere around there. It started with the idea about their zipline-network between the sides of the canyon and the velocity/mobility that could come from that, but I kinda had to gimp it a bit since unless it's done _very _right, a high-speed zipline-chase after a Skiff could be _very _confusing and boring in just text, it would really only be done justice in a video format. Similarly, I would've _wanted _to push home the vast network they have dug into the Grand Canyon, along with their more shamanistic, passive nature similar to the Suns, but given Komodo was there on combat-terms, as well as trying to make these chapters a bit engaging, the easiest way to convey that would be it being a playable space where players who care about such things can just walk around and stare at every subtle detail and easter egg at their leisure.

Finally, on two under-represented characters in this story, first up's Airada, who it's actually kinda funny that DarowdrynofArcadia noted as being less 'developed' than her sisters, specifically funny in the 'I dun fucked up' way….of all three of my player-characters in Destiny, I always do new content on my Warlock last (Hell, I haven't even maxed out Stormcaller to this day, when both Sunbreaker and Nightstalker have been _long _since maxed out), so it's kind of accidentally showing that bias since Airada, who's based on my in-game Warlock, similarly got the short-stick compared to Sivala and Komo. I didn't _intend _to short-change her like I did, it just kinda….._happened, _by total, telling accident. With that, I tried to touch back on the themes I hinted _way _back during the Europa chapter, with her being an experimental, edge-pushing explorer who laughs at all these notions of taboo and 'we don't talk about that 'round here', which made her buddying up with Niro like a couple of mad scientists fit pretty perfectly. I'm _hoping _this did a good job of selling her as a bit more unique, but in the end the feedback will tell. Same goes with Juju talking again: I think I _lightly _toyed with it some before, and I've done the whole 'telepathic chatter' thing in another story, but I got the idea to bring it back after seeing plenty of people commenting on Youtube about wishing the Super Good Advice actually talked to you in-game (Which, I agree, would've been amazing if it actually had something good to say, unlike The Bane from Borderlands 2).

As for the second under-represented character, the whole bit with Skolas was put in at the end to try and, much like Midas, almost make the reader feel _bad _for the big guy. Destiny seems to like painting things in black and white from an in-game perspective, most of the grey's in the Grimoire, so I thought it'd be interesting to see if I could make anybody feel for Skolas, especially since think about it: He's failed miserably and lost what dwindling numbers of Fallen he has left time and time again, made to look like a fool in front of the House of the Sun, Oryx is in town and causing even _more _problems than in-game Skolas had to put up with, _and _he's been struck in the balls twice now, first by Raylik in Africa, and again by Riksis in Germany. Hell, if he went to Colorado himself instead of sending Taniks and Ghaniks, it probably would've happened a _third_ time. For that reason, I laid a simple ground rule with the segment, which was to _not _have him loose his temper. Some might think watching him lose his shit might speak to his desperation, but I'd sooner expect it to just come off like a childish tantrum, so I went with depressed hopelessness and doubt instead of desperate rage, a good example of the latter being Saren's little rage-fit in Mass Effect 1.

_Truly _finally, I have _one _big question above all else to the readers: Thoughts on Taniks getting some more exposure in the story and being an anti-hero of sorts? He could've been a _great _parallel to Variks as, like, the military side of the Fallen vs Variks' more mediator-like 'social side', like Variks is the brains and Taniks is the guns, but instead, nope, we're introduced to him and kill him in the same mission…hurts even more because, since he's a freelance merc, we could've _easily _bribed him somehow to decide Skolas isn't worth it, which is why I've basically done what LateNightGaming said about the Didact after Halo 4: He's in 'Story Time-Out' of sorts, just kinda tucked off to the side while I ask you guys if you like the idea of friendly, even if selfishly-motivated Taniks, or if you just want him dead and done with. I'm personally leaning more in the direction of friendly, albeit selfishly-motivated Taniks, but I like hearing input on these sorts of source-material-altering decisions given this is literally taking an established, source-material-character and flipping their allegiance. On the bright side, it would be a good way to show him being a 'clever creature' as Variks said it.


	20. Time's Tomb, Part I

Chapter 20: Time's Tomb, Part I

_Near the Veil of the Hezen Conflux, Dust Basin, Mars….._

Being the last of the team to arrive on Mars, Caldwell lagged so far behind due to the thick layer of metaphorical smoke he had to put on the Vanguard for this job. The three leaders in question knowing the Fireteam was attacking this Veil, the smoke and mirrors came in to explain away the presence of the Servo Flayers' Supercarrier and the multiple House of Earth Ketches that had landed to aid in their assault. Playing the event up to the Vanguard as a coincidental run-in that Komodo would use to sneak on by, the truth was it was a fully-armed Eliksni/Cabal/Guardian joint-effort attack.

Not having the direct fire-support of the Xaphan Exsul in order to not be blown to smithereens on approach or destroy any possible entryways they could use, the Ketches held back too due to their lack of armaments, which left Harvesters and Skiffs as the Fireteam's only air support. Not as disappointing as it sounded, there was still _plenty _of firepower to go around due to the Land Tank, the Hades Via IV, which the Servo Flayers had rolled out so Primus Sha'oen could keep a close, direct eye on the battle from the tank's bridge. Cabal armor not being the only thing in play, the Goliath tanks slowly gliding by were rolling in line with Walkers belonging to both the Earth and Sun houses, the latter of which having hitched a ride with the Earth due to lacking their own functional Ketches.

"Impressive, isn't it? If your Battle of the Twilight Gap had some Cabal working with the Fallen, I'm not sure you would've survived." The Stranger noted, having been ready to greet Caldwell on a trail the two non-City factions were using to try and sneakily move troops and supplies closer to the Veil itself. The Exo Warlock having transmatted out of his ship right on the rim of the path in question, he and the Stranger had a raised perspective on the carved-out trail.

"You know, with what I saw from above on my way down here? I'd say you're right." Caldwell agreed, touching down in his brand new set of blue-lit Rimed Hood/Gloves/Robes, Transversive Steps boots, Five Lives of Albios Mark and Old Guard Shader. The demeanor differences between the Cabal and Eliksni on the path below them coming out _very _strongly, the Servo Flayers troops escorted their armor on foot, three and three on either side of the tank with some carting a Colossus on top who could stand up and put fire on the enemy regardless of what side they attacked from. The Fallen, by contrast, seemed lazy and carefree given there was no active danger, with plenty of them laying on the tank like they were taking a leisurely joy-ride.

A Suns Captain laying on top of a Goliath's rotating turret like he was trying to sunbathe, legs crossed and Shrapnel Launcher by his side while a Centurion dutifully strolled alongside the tank, watching for ambushes, Caldwell couldn't help but crack a small smile under his helmet at how night and day the difference was between the two factions. Both Fireteam members stepping over the edge to gently slide down the sand dune, they fell in line with the single-stack line of Goliaths and Walkers for what little of the walk remained. Having dropped in near the end of this route, Caldwell didn't have to look far to see some of his other members, spotting Kyra and Merikh up on a rock ledge with some indistinct Suns Fallen. Seemingly instructing them on what to look out for, the Hunter of the duo caught sight of Caldwell down below, patting Kyra on the shoulder to indicate they needed to go.

Getting down from their perch to fall in line, Kyra's extra two hands and superior experience with shaky ascent/descent helped her beat the Hunter out, only to comically wait in an exaggerated manner for him at the bottom, complete with two sets of crossed arms and a foot tapping as she watched him slowly descend the massive rocks they used to get into said perch to begin with. Their body language indicating a back-and-forth banter-filled friendship full of trading blows with no ill-intent behind them, the Fallen Vandal seemed to have foregone any sort of moaning and groaning about Merikh's attitude in favor of learning it and adapting to throw it right back at him. That adaption being _far _more than what could be said for Eris in dealing with Cayde, Merikh didn't seem to mind as he reached the ground floor, giving Kyra an open-armed 'Hey, what did you expect?' gesture to play right along.

Carwyn, Barrett and Kudac being a slightly different story, the trio could be seen on their right as they exited the path, conversing with some Servo Flayers Legionaries that were setting up ammo storage for the long haul this assault would be. 'Conversing' more being Kudac and Carwyn standing by while Barrett stood up to one of the Legionaries, Kudac's relaxed stance indicated there was no threat of genuine infighting, just Barrett entertaining the main Cabal race's penchant for aggression. Swinging a right hook into the Legionary's chestplate, Barrett struck with enough force to jostle the Legionary's sense of balance. One foot actually rising off the ground as he nearly fell over, the Legionary came back strong with a punch of his own, aimed right for Barrett's chestplate in a matching gesture.

Hardly moving an inch, the Titan stood stoically as he nearly absorbed the blow, even giving his chestplate an open-palmed two-hand smack afterwards to say 'Come on, is that it?'. Surprised, the Legionary's demeanor seemed to take a total 180-degree spin, actually laughing the whole thing off and giving Barrett a back-pat, almost like he was part of the family now. A whistle coming from the Stranger not long after, it grabbed the three Fireteam members' collective attention, causing them to approach and fall in line like Kyra and Merikh did.

"What was that, your induction ceremony?" The Stranger joked, primarily due to how friendly the unknown Legionary was before she pulled Barrett away. Further interested due to how closely Barrett and Kudac operated, it was only fair to assume the Cabal Hybrid was trying to pull the Titan into whatever counted for Cabal 'culture' in the field. Not the slightest bit ashamed of being caught in the act, Barrett almost seemed _proud _as he explained the situation.

"Well, Kudac said the big guys like to lock horns pretty often, keeps 'em entertained to rough each other up and see who's better. No fancy phrases, no stupid dances or any'a that, just swing, swing hard, and don't cry out when ya get smacked in return. I _would've _jumped up and gave him a headbutt, but I didn't wanna risk a rupture." Barrett explained, specifically referring to the usually-fatal cranial damage most big Cabal suffered when the pressure-seals on their helmets were forcefully damaged, be it by gunfire or blunt force. The unfavorable environment for Cabal troops having a high chance of killing the Legionary if the explosive decompression right around his skull didn't, it was easy to understand why Barrett played it safe and just struck the Legionary's chestplate instead.

"He truly gets it…_Carwyn _here is trying to ask them about any interesting euphemisms we Cabal have, famous artists back home, all that….Barrett just trades blows, which the men and women out here can respect a _great _deal more." Kudac teased, putting Carwyn in the spotlight in a non-hostile manner to call out the Defender Titan's curious, non-violent ways. Barrett seeming to have adopted Kyra's approach of adapting rather than fighting, the Striker Titan wasn't too stupid to try a more diplomatic approach, he just knew the Cabal foot-soldiers didn't _want _diplomacy: They wanted to trade blows.

More of the defensive setup coming into view, what they just passed was merely the _far _back line, with Servo Flayers shovel-plows already hard at work shoving the sand to sculpt it how the Cabal desired in preparation to drop in prefab fortifications. Mostly hauled in by Harvesters, some Skiffs had been jury-rigged with cables and hooks to help out, hauling prefabricated Cabal fortifications across the sky to drop in where crews of Psions directed them to go. Some Walkers moving to take cover behind generously tall sand dunes, only exposing their main gun over the top, the Goliaths took more open ground with intent to strafe, displaying the difference in tactics between the two kinds of ground-based armor.

Spotting Alvara and Niro aiding some Suns Captains in hauling ammo-crates by while Engineer Psions bolted the segments of their dug-in fortifications together, there were regrettably no emplaced guns to speak of, just simple trench-type halls and rounded bunkers. Most likely to conserve on fuel when hauling it around due to the Servo Flayers' 'pack up and go' nomadic nature, Caldwell could only wish this cooperation had the _full _support of the Vanguard, not the under-the-table support of Cayde and Ikora. The hell Shaxx would raise coupled with Zavala's fixation on duty and integrity being the biggest fears Caldwell had, the Warlock could only assume Ikora and Cayde would have to play dumb should the Fireteam's lineup ever be discovered, which left the idea of transparency _very _low on Caldwell's list of priorities.

Snapping out of his mini-nightmare of what would happen to the team if the lid was blown off their lineup when the Stranger whistled to Alvara and Niro, Caldwell shelved the fear as an unlikely possibility as they came up on the last two members. Standing around a small map-projector that was simply laid down on a Fallen tarp pinned by crates of Cabal ammo, Riksis and Midas were joined by Valus Kru'aurc, the big Imperial Colossus that got them onto the Xaphan Exsul back in Greece. The holographic projection in question being a small-scale view of the structure far off to their left, the Veil looked to be a terraced structure similar to the Vault of Glass, directly dug into the red rock-walls of Mars like an embedded bunker.

The 'front door' from the Vault being replaced with what looked to be said door merged into a gigantic, Gate Lord-level Transfer Gate, the dormant gate had a glowing, blue dot in its center, almost like a receptacle for data from a Vex Spire. Fairly easy to figure that's how it would be activated, the odd part was due to the two Vex Spires that had already been erected, one off to the left and one off to the right. Two pad-like spots down the middle forming a diamond shape if one were to draw lines linking the two pads with the two Spires, they were most likely activation-points to erect two _more _Spires. A number of small, normal-sized Transfer Gates dotting the various terraces that made up the Veil's structure, all the Gates were dormant, but populated with Vex patrolling back and forth. Some Hobgoblins eerily staring in the joint-force's direction like statues, it was safe to assume the Vex _knew _they were here, but were simply biding their time for something.

"Your team's assembled? Good, then we can begin." The disembodied voice of Primus Sha'oen spoke, seeing and talking through a small Cabal transmitter that his Valus was holding. "As far as we've discovered, combined with some relevant intel the Blind Legion were generous enough to give us, this Veil has four Spires: three to collectively transmit a three-piece unlock signal, and one to focus it into a single stream to unlock the massive Transfer Gate in the back. The Gates can function without it, but only for split-seconds. If the Vex want to _hold _it open, they need that three-part code, which is also how we'll effect our entry."

"And…they just _left _two of the Spires still standing?" Kudac noted, finding the job to be half-done for them already. As it turns out, that observation went hand in hand with the Vex patrolling around.

"We sent some Psion teams and some of those smaller Eliksni to scout ahead and possibly construct the Spires on their own….They got through two of them before the whole place woke up and they were driven off, so now we've got a half-done job and enemy patrols keeping a _close _eye on the other two. Your smart-mouthed Hunter didn't spot very much in the way of backup, just Goblins with a few Hobgoblins perched for overwatch, but go in expecting a fight. With how sharply they responded the first time, we won't know what's on the tip of their spear until they strike in force." Sha'oen explained, 'smart-mouthed Hunter' most likely referring to Merikh.

"With a Transfer Gate _that _big in the back, we could be dealing with _quite _a spear…..so, what's the plan? Split the team in half, one takes the near pad, other takes the far one?" Alvara noted, using Sha'oen's phrasing to imply fears of a Gate Lord or Cerberus emerging during this second assault. Everyone understanding they'd _need _to get these Spires up if they wanted to beat Skolas to the punch and kill Karkinos, Caldwell didn't particularly _like it_, but he knew what had to be done.

"It's almost _entirely _open ground between here and there….Sha'oen, tell your men to hold fire until we're engaged. If anything bigger than a Minotaur comes out of those Gates, they're free to open fire with _everything_ they have, and the same goes for the Fallen…Riksis, who's in charge of the Fallen here?" Caldwell directed, looking to his tallest member for a pointer on the matter. Getting pointed off to their right, the Warlock saw three friendly, multi-armed faces and one unknown one. Recognizing Killian, Ghaniks and Silus, the heavily-augmented Suns Baron with his own pet S.A.B.E.R.-Shank, the unknown Fallen was what looked to be the Earth House's Archon Priest.

Standing the same height as Riksis at 15', he largely looked like a normal Archon Priest with the House-specific paintjob, such as the face of the helmet, being a dark brown color, but deviated in the finer details. Not having outright custom armor plates, the Archon Priest instead adorned his armor with a number of Eliksni trinkets and talismans. Said ornaments dangling from the two 'horns' of his helmet, hanging from his four wrists like bracelets, and being worn openly above the armor around his neck, the Archon Priest even had somewhat more ornate imagery embroidered into the front of his long loincloth, giving off _quite _the Warrior Shaman vibe. Armed with a Shrapnel Launcher like any other Archon, the Earth Fallen were friendly and well-meaning, but _far _from pacifists.

"Looks like the Big Stick Philosophy at its finest…..tell him the same thing: Hold fire until the Vex engage, then dump everything into any large Vex units that come out. With any luck, the forward line will hold until we make it back out…since the plate closer to the gate is deeper in enemy lines, we'll split the teams six and five: The group of six takes the forward plate while the team of five takes the rear plate and provides cover if the team of six needs to retreat. Sharpshooters in back, muscle in front." Caldwell directed, sending the team of six to the plate closer to the actual 'front door' of the Veil. Knowing where each of them stood on the spectrum of close range vs long range, Riksis sent a Captain off to relay Caldwell's orders to the Earth's Archon Priest while he fell in line with the six-man group.

Caldwell, Riksis, Barrett, Kudac, Midas and Alvara hoofing it across the open sand to the forward plate while Merikh, Kyra, the Stranger, Niro and Carwyn took up defensive positions behind jutting bits of Vex architecture around the rear plate, the five-man precision-weapon team waited for the six-man group to reach _their _plate before they'd incite any activations. Timing it to activate their plates in sync, Merikh gave the high terraces of the Veil's main structure a good once-over with his scope to look for the Hobgoblins, which had stopped staring off into the distance like statues. Not actively closing in to engage either, and not even taking potshots at a big forward-team member like Riksis, the fact that the Fallen and Psions who erected the other two Spires were run off by the Vex made this sudden pacifism confusing at best.

"Hey, _Caldwell_…..up high, just a little ways behind you. Those Spires are spawning _something _between 'em." Merikh called out over comms, sounding a little unsettled by the vague, glowing, transparent formations of what looked to be sections of a Gate Lord-sized Vex forming in the air between the two currently-raised Spires. Similar in orientation to the parts that were usually spawned by a Gate Lord's Gate shortly before the Lord's assembly and deployment, the separated parts simply hung there, suspended by nothing and pulsing with energy flashes as the left and right Spires constructed it. The forward-plate team holding their position and hoping/praying that their Spire would go up as soon as possible, that plan regrettably went under.

Seemingly done being 'generated', the Precursor-style Gate Lord was still see-through, possessing a faint purple glow and what was largely just a framework outline filled with faint purple gas-emissions, similar to a Defender's Force Barrier. The name coming up as 'Hand of the Timedancer', the lack of a personally-identifying 'name' like Zydron or Vudron gave rise to suspicions that this 'Gate Lord' might just be a spectral enactment of will on the outside world by Karkinos. Almost like a spectral projection enabling the Timedancer to interact with the world outside its domain, the Precursor-style Gate Lord touched down and _immediately _posed a problem.

Simply following Caldwell's orders as instructed, one of the posted-up Walkers saw a big Vex, took aim at said big Vex, and fired its main gun right into this spectral Gate Lord's abdomen, only for the shell to pass right through and slam into the front door of the Veil. A pair of Goliaths trying their hand at it, as well as all manner of infantry units firing their small-arms at the pass-through Gate Lord, all munitions failed to produce results, and instead behaved as if the Cabal and Eliksni forces were just firing at thin air. Everybody holding fire in pure confusion at the futility of their efforts, the proper battle started once this spectral Gate Lord raised its right foot.

Stomping down like any normal Gate Lord could, the unarmed Gate Lord didn't _need _to fight for itself, as out of the immense sand-cloud its stomp kicked up, a set of Axis Goblins with their shield-arms projected and ready had emerged. Not spectral or see-through like the Gate Lord, these quite-averagely physical Vex were just the front line in a storm of Vex, both normal, Precursor and Descendant, that began to appear and march from the twenty-plus Transfer Gates dotting the Veil's terraces. _Now _feeling like they had something to worry about, Komodo's six-man forward-team held their ground and hoped to not be seen as they watched the Spire in front of them slowly take shape more and more.

"For all their obsession with technological advancement, the Hezen Collective couldn't have 'advanced' this damned Spire tech to form _any faster?!" _Midas complained aloud, visibly taking issue with the fact that his race was torn apart over the idea of technological advancement, yet these Spires formed at the rate an old human computer's operating system loaded something. Manticores and Minotaurs starting to emerge from the smaller Gates as well, the newfound hail of Torch Hammer fire coming from the terraces was putting a _great _deal of pressure as the forward-team huddled closer. Merikh and Kyra trying their best to thin the number of Minotaurs, it was all for naught as every one they took down was replaced by two more from one of the Transfer Gates. Even the assistance of Cabal Ballistas and Earth/Sun Vandals with Wire Rifles not curbing the enemy's numbers, this was less a matter of beating the opposition and more a matter of fending them off.

The rear Spire locking itself in as a completed structure, the Spire's completion must've triggered a reaction out of Karkinos, who stopped standing around and surveying the battle in favor of turning its attention on the forward-team and their _nearly _completed Spire. Yelling for his group to scatter without hesitation, Caldwell immediately pushed and shoved the team members closest to him so they'd get up and run as Karkinos' spectral Gate Lord raised its foot again, planning to stomp right on the plate. Caldwell himself being the last one to get away, the hardy Exo wasn't crushed, but still catapulted a great deal by the seismic blast the Gate Lord created. Being properly flung off his feet, Caldwell painfully struck a jutting block of Vex architecture corner-first with his spine, but only seemed to suffer some slight disorientation as he groaned in the sand.

"_Come on _you tin-assed bastard, _**up!" **_Riksis yelled as he rushed across open ground to Caldwell's aid, grabbing the Warlock team-leader by the shoulders with his lower arms and hefting the Exo to his feet. Taking just a second to process his surroundings again, it thankfully only took a second as Caldwell shook off the daze and grabbed his Tuonela SR4 out of the sand, following Riksis back towards the plate. Karkinos' ghost-Lord thankfully having moved away from the forward plate, the _new _problem was the numerous Goblins marching over the plate, most likely intent on guarding it from further activation. Not ordering it, Caldwell got some assistance anyway as the five-man rear-plate team got up and advanced, running and gunning to link up with Caldwell's group near the forward plate. All eleven members together being a powerful enough force to blow the Goblins off their prize, Caldwell still had some words to share with who he assumed was behind the daring move.

"I thought I told you to take the rear group because you were a _sharpshooter_, not a warlord." Caldwell half-scolded, half-teased as he and Merikh took cover next to each other. Simply assuming it was Merikh's idea due to the Hunter being in charge of any sub-group Caldwell wasn't put into, the reality of the situation was a bit different.

"You think it was _my idea? _When's the last time you got a death-stare from your friend over there?" Merikh implied, jerking his head to gesture towards the Stranger. Effectively implying it was _her _idea rather than Merikh's, Caldwell _still _thought the whole effort was foolish, but was nonetheless glad it paid off. Running into some more close shaves as Torch Hammer-wielding Goblins began to step over their cover, plenty of them got a swift Ace of Spades or Tuonela SR4 round to the MindCore for the effort. The unlucky ones meeting Barrett's Cúchulainn-D or Kudac's Flak Rifle instead, the messy scatter of Goblin bits from said MindCores exploding was just even _more _sensory input in the chaotic, explosion-filled engagement going on around them. The Spire nearing completion again, Karkinos' ghost-Lord once again turned to face them, but this time, one of Komodo's less prominent members got the spotlight.

"Wait a minute…_everybody, get outside my bubble!" _Carwyn called out, dropping his Ward of Dawn right smack-dab on the center of the plate. Confused, but obliging, the team scattered after the bubble went down, just in time for the Gate Lord's foot to slam right into it. With the origin-point of the seismic blast now being _inside _the bubble, Carwyn was properly eviscerated and turned into nothing but bloody mulch and mangled Titan armor, but the rest of the team was _much _closer on-hand to revive him and keep the Spire forming than last time. Carwyn's Ghost thankfully surviving the ordeal, the Defender Titan's bubble was destroyed by him dying, but _he _was reformed good as new.

"Hey, if I ever mention you poppin' bubbles like it's a _bad thing _again, remind me of what just happened." Merikh complimented the Defender in his own way, surprised by how the Awoken Titan went from easily-forgotten background-filler to the singular element that would carry the team into the Veil in one selfless action. Karkinos' one kill evidently being enough to make the Timedancer look elsewhere, the last few seconds needed to erect the last Spire went off without a hitch, as signaled by the two side Spires and the back one all firing a blue beam into their newly-built forward Spire. Taking a few seconds to condense and focus the stream, the forward Spire eventually shot its own blue data-beam out, _right _into the center of the massive Transfer Gate at the back of the Veil's structure.

"The Gate's open! Sha'oen, we're moving in, so once our radio channel cuts out, you're free to hit these Vex with _whatever _you want!" Caldwell informed over comms as he and the rest of his team clambered over their cover, making a mad-dash for the massive Transfer Gate. Specifically referring to Sha'oen's refrain from shelling the area in order to not kill Komodo in the process, Caldwell could only hope his Fireteam being off the field would help Sha'oen turn this battle around for their side. Spotting some Fallen grav-lifts, most likely installed before the Veil went active, it was their easy ticket up the long, wide Vex-architecture terraces. Ascending each lift one by one, the team soon got up all seven terraces, rushed by the barrage of every known type of Vex gun firing off around them.

Only killing the Vex most directly in their way due to the futility of trying to kill _everything_, the team gathered up right at the front of the Gate and subsequently entered once all eleven members were accounted for. Unable to see her comrades, Kyra's departure through the Gate was personally a sea of black nothingness, with no sense of up, down, left or right, just….._nothing._ Hearing an odd clink-clink noise on her head, the Vandal heard it again, followed by what felt like a small hand grabbing one of the horns on her helmet. Pulling and twisting on her head a bit, the Vandal finally saw a proper, physical existence again, albeit not the Dust Basin she was just in. Seeing the culprit, the Vandal couldn't help but yell and kick this odd, short creature in the stomach as she scooted back a bit.

"And who are _you _exactly, little scavenger?" Kyra wondered, finding one of her Shock Blades stuck upside-down in the sand. Retrieving it quickly to stave off this three-eyed freak, a more focused examination brought out some odd similarities that Kyra couldn't help but notice. Looking like it stood 5' tall, give or take a few inches, the glowing white tri-pattern-eyed creature had a blood red face with a grey carapace surrounding it, including a somewhat prominently pointed chin like an arrowhead. A mouth full of pin teeth somewhat smiling out at her, Kyra didn't know _what _to classify this creature under, as it stood on two legs with two arms, a torso and a head, but had odd little quirks like a number of small, point-tipped limbs protruding from the sides of its abdomen that tucked in at the front, resembling some sort of ribbed plating when they were at rest.

With small, pointed and carapace-covered fingers, a heavily-plated grey body with a sinewy white muscle in-between and what looked to be toeless, cloth-wrapped feet, the odd little creature was dressed for the environment it was in. Wearing a tattered cloth hood, a poncho-like cloak that covered all but the exposed, limb-filled abdomen; and a knee-reaching skirt of similarly tattered cloth, the skirt was loaded down with bags and pouches, most likely to steal and store whatever junk this odd little thing could find around here. Slightly reassured by how passive the creature was, Kyra's _next _concern was how Hive-like this little freak was, _especially _due to sharing the red face with Oryx in particular.

"_Me? _I'm Aurash, but I wanna know what _you are. _You don't look like any of the races from Fundament….." Aurash observed, seemingly not caring in the slightest about Kyra's Shock Blade as she closed in on the Vandal, more interested in poking, prodding, and observing every curve, angle and aspect of Kyra's armor and physiology in child-like curiosity. Particularly taking interest in the Vandal's two lower arms, it was safe to assume the interest was based in Aurash's own abdominal appendages, most likely sparking some interest in potential biological similarities. Not cutting the creature down out of pure confusion, Kyra's stoicism fumbled back into uh's and uhm's as she awkwardly tried to make Aurash give her some room. "You even speak our language…..what brings you here?"

"I'm…..here to kill a Vex construct. One that calls itself Karkinos…..have you seen it? And….my name's Kyra, if that helps." Kyra slowly explained, trying to wrap her head around whatever Fundament was or why this little Aurash girl wasn't afraid of Kyra's Shock Blade. Further confused about the language comment given she heard Aurash speaking in fluent Eliksni, the Vandal could only assume the Veil was exhibiting some kind of strange Vex trickery to auto-translate speech into the hearer's native tongue. Effectively meaning this Aurash girl must be hearing Kyra speak in…_Fundament-ese _or _whatever _the actual language name was, the Vandal didn't expect Aurash to know the first thing about it.

"The Timedancer? It hasn't hurt anybody…though, it won't let us leave either." Aurash pointed out, catching Kyra's attention with the mention of 'us' instead of 'me' in Aurash's word-choice.

"_Us? _There's more of you?" Kyra inquired, unable to refrain from getting a bit curious herself. Not realizing the _completely _different can of worms she opened by asking that question, there was unfortunately no turning back now.

"Yeah, me and my two sisters…I came here alone, but I eventually found them again! Come on, get your stuff and I'll take you to them!" Aurash happily explained, seemingly being the _blatant _polar-opposite of the angry, warmongering Oryx that had laid waste to half of the solar system. Still having her suspicions at a connection, Kyra nonetheless played along, pulling her other Shock Blade from the sand and finding her Wire Rifle half-buried in it too. Finally stopping to examine her environment after fetching her gun, the Vandal was perplexed by how _picturesque _it was, with miles upon miles of open, beautiful white sand alit by a high-flying orange sun. A myriad of Vex structures and blocks jutting up all over the place, the Vandal spotted some distinctly _non-Vex _structures as well, half-buried in the sand like they'd been forcefully ripped from their place and dumped here at random.

Snapping out of her nearly-hypnotized scenery observation by a 'Hey, you coming?!' from Aurash, the Vandal hurried down the sandy hill she had landed on, locking her Wire Rifle on her back as she caught up with the creepy little girl. Holding a pair of slightly curved boards made from some kind of chitin-like material, the boards had a funny shape similarity to a Knight's Wall of Darkness barrier, albeit grey instead of midnight black. Painted with some odd symbols on the front in red, the backside was hollowed out and possessed nothing but a string linking from the right side to the left, as well as some hand-hold bars on the interior walls of the board. Almost resembling a sled of some kind when all those details were put together, it was _fairly _obvious where Aurash was going with this.

"I dunno how, but I found a second board tucked behind some of these blocks! Come on, just grab the string, point the curved side in front, and jump ahead of us. Oh, and follow where I go: I haven't seen any mean pitfalls or anything, but if you hit these slopes _just _right, we can slide all the way back down to camp without getting out and walking." Aurash informed, passing one of the matching boards to her newfound Vandal friend. Confusedly accepting the chitin-board, Kyra did as instructed, turning the curved side with the red-painted symbols to face forward. Grabbing the string with her upper hands and the secondary handles with her lower hands, Aurash seemed to be doing something similar with her abdomen-limbs, hooking two of them through each of the secondary handles before running and leaping off the edge of the sand dune they stood on.

Figuring there was no way but forward, Kyra took a deep breath and ran, leaping much like Aurash did. Colliding with the sand through a hard thump, the Vandal was pleasantly surprised to find herself cruising comfortably. Gliding down the sand hills with Aurash a little ways in front, Kyra tried to shift her weight left or right to keep in line with Aurash, tailing the freaky little scavenger on this unknown path through the sands of time. Going at a credibly fast downhill speed, the excitement was furthered as Aurash took some oddly risky paths, gliding through the gaps in what looked to be the bulbs of a wrecked Cosmodrome colony ship. Nimbly dodging the jutting rods and smashed framework, Kyra's somewhat larger stature gave her a close shave as the top of her helmet scraped some metal while gliding through a short hole in the bulb's plating, but the Vandal was ultimately still doing fine.

Having kept her head face-down into the board during that close shave, Kyra eventually picked her head up again, only to be hit with a _bizarre _change of scenery as those shifting dunes of sand were replaced with a lush, tropical paradise filled with tall, vibrant alien flora, a grandiose ocean to her left, and various winding rivers to her right. Still following a path of white sand down the middle, the margin for error was _far _smaller as she steered her sled to track Aurash, winding left and right in hopes of not wiping out and tumbling into a thicket. Seeing some crashed Cabal Harvesters dug into the collections of greenery around them, there were no actual _Cabal _to go with them, be it alive or dead. A dormant Carrier sticking out over the forest canopy a few miles away, Kyra was swiftly garnering more questions than answers about what this Veil even _was_.

Initially assuming it to be a testing-ground like that Vault of Glass she'd heard in passing conversation from her Guardian teammates, this strange structure was seeming more like an endless abyss of time's trash, randomly sucking in and dumping various pieces from different parts of time and space in these strange, diverse biomes. Gliding right into some thick greenery, Kyra was simply following Aurash's path, which led into the scenery _now_ shifting into dunes of moonlit snow. Seeing a Wolf-branded Ketch dug into the snow, some Harpies and Descendant Hydras were casually floating around, taking an odd amount of interest in observing the similarly Wolf-branded Skiffs randomly scattered about the landscape.

Even seeing some distinctly Eliksni-styled architecture, Kyra couldn't help but fixate on it as her sled continued to speedily glide downhill, watching the proud, royal remnants of her lost culture pass her by in this journey to Aurash's camp. Exhilarated by the sight of it and disappointed by having to leave it behind, the Vandal could at least be thankful that the Harpies and Hydras didn't notice the duo sliding downhill as they glided their way into an icy cavern. Similarly having to duck to avoid being thwacked face-first by some of the icy stalactites inside the cavern, their long ride soon came to an end as they made it out the other side, coming to an odd, mish-mashed camp set into the side of a crashed ship of unknown design.

Looking like a long, slender, albeit brutish design not too far off from Hive constructs, the needle-tipped ship was almost like a combination between a Hive warship and a spear with a dash of Ketch-like characteristics thrown in, and constructed from some strange, chitinous material the Vandal had no understanding of. A chunk of the hull being ripped open, potentially upon crash-landing here in this frozen wasteland, Aurash got up from her sled and led the way, dragging the sled behind her as she casually approached this strange Needle Ship. Somewhat wary, Kyra nonetheless followed, putting her trust in the little scavenger as they pushed past some cloth barriers hanging over the hull-breach.

Finding the interior to be converted into a livable space, this scavenger had rounded up all manner of junk, including items of human, Eliksni, and even Cabal origin to use as tables, seating, tools and storage. One such improvised design being what looked to be a Fallen net strung up from the ceiling by belts of Heavy Slug Thrower Ammo, one belt in each corner and looped through hooks in the ceiling to serve as a hammock, said hammock's current resident was the first to notice Aurash's friend.

"Oh, Aurash, good to see you're back…..and it seems you too found a visitor. Think they know each other?" A taller, roughly 5'5" creature of the same race inquired, lazily shifting out of her hammock to get up and greet Aurash. Having many similar physical features to Aurash, the little scavenger pulling her hood back revealed one key difference between the two. Aurash possessing a trio of tapering silver tubes protruding from the back of her head, stopping in a thin tip just past the shoulder-line, this taller second creature only had two, albeit two that stopped at the same point on her body. Lacking the red face Aurash had, this creature's head was also a bit smoother, lacking the sharp-tipped chin and many of the rugged, rough carapace-pieces Aurash's skull possessed.

Even the outfit being a bit different, this taller creature turned out to potentially be no taller at all, as indicated by how her tattered, feet-concealing skirt simply billowed and drifted when she moved. Evidently levitating by some means, the 'skirt' seemed to be fashioned from Eliksni House flags and held on her hips by a pair of Cabal belts, which was matched by a shorter section of Eliksni banner wrapped across her upper torso and tied on in the back. Oddly having an actually formed-out chest like human/Awoken women hidden beneath the banner segment, unlike the chitinous, flat, armor-chested Aurash, it was _abundantly _clear there were some physiological differences between the two.

"I think it's possible…Kyra, this is Sathona, my younger sister. Don't be surprised by her flight, that's normal for the Mothers. After I reunited with her and my youngest sister, Xi Ro, we came across an old enemy of ours whom we'd sworn to kill, and once we did, we found some of the jelly on her. Sathona successfully made the transition, but strangely, me and Xi have survived too. We don't quite understand it, but we don't know how to escape the Timedancer and escape back home either, so we've lived here, in our crashed ship scavenging the bits the Timedancer pulls in. I've seen helmets that kinda look like yours, buried in the snow and sand, but you're the first living thing besides the…Vex, you called them?" Aurash explained, pinning a name to the floating creature. Still perplexed by the vague Wizard similarities, Kyra's attention was next drawn to the Stranger and Midas, who seemed to have been lucky enough to find Aurash's camp of their own accord.

"And your third sister, Xi Ro? Where might she be?" Kyra wondered, hoping this Xi Ro might be out and potentially encountering more of the Fireteam to then lead back here. Unfortunately, she was here too. Seeing a third, similarly 5' individual of the same species as Sathona and Aurash, the presumed Xi Ro had thicker, denser armored plating with a stockier structure, more armored legs, and denser chest-plating to go with her broader back. Having one biological point of interest besides her Cavalier-like head and single, matching-length tapered silver tube emerging from the back of her head, Xi Ro's abdomen-limbs were more sharply tipped and possessed a blade-like ridge on the backside, more resembling scythe-blades than simple vestigial limbs.

Almost looking sharp enough for Xi Ro to embed those limbs in a target's midsection and vertically rip said midsection in two from the middle outward, even Xi had an apparently defined role in the trio. Seeming like the warrior of the three, this Xi Ro's only improvised clothing to speak of was a front/back rectangular loincloth pair made from a Cabal belt with Eliksni banner-segments looped through it. Obviously preferring to rely on her sturdy biological armor instead of strapping herself up with scavenged junk, the 5' creature still had some items of interest.

Recognizing a Cabal dagger similar to Kudac's being clipped to the side of Xi Ro's belt, this was accompanied by an improvised club that the chitinous creature propped on her shoulder. Looking to be built from Vex junk, the 'shaft' of the club was actually a pair of Goblin biceps with the metal bar-piece removed and reattached to point downwards, serving as a handle. Both shoulder-sockets pointing in towards each other, between them was the solidly-fixed, decapitated head of a Minotaur, which was quite literally the 'head' of the makeshift club. Even having a blunt side and a pointed side thanks to the backside and pointed chin of the Minotaur's head respectively, the presence of a disembodied Goblin thigh, hollowed out and set up with a carrying handle on the interior that was left on a nearby crate indicated it was most likely a shield to go with Xi Ro's club.

"I heard from one of _them _that they came here with more people, probably you too…if you're looking for your friends, I'm sure they'll find their way here. Everybody seems to find their way in here." Sathona assured, assuming a link between Kyra and Midas/Stranger. With that question preemptively answered, Kyra sought to discuss with some familiar faces, requesting for Midas to come outside with her. Obliging, the golden Vex moved from his corner of the room to follow the Vandal out into the snow, where they were free to talk about their newfound allies.

"Midas, you're a Vex…do you have _any idea _what's going on here?!" Kyra hissed in a whisper to the big Manticore, trying to keep her voice down to avoid alerting the trio inside while still accurately conveying how absolutely baffled and confused she was by this place. Unfortunately, the gold-plated Vex wasn't much better off in terms of absolutes.

"In terms of concrete knowledge and facts? I know about as little as you do…._but, _fortunately, being a Vex makes me keen to some things you wouldn't be. _If _I'm understanding it right, this great big simulation Karkinos has created isn't a lab, it's a _playground. _Karkinos is just _ripping _whatever it pleases from time to dump here and study, examine, and poke at to see how it reacts, and somehow Aurash got here as well." Midas explained, most likely able to see the Veil for the network that it truly was.

"Right…what's with her, anyway? She looks like some kind of baby Oryx, _especially_ with the red face." Kyra observed, finally feeling safe to mention it vocally. As it turns out, that wasn't far from the truth.

"Her sisters mentioned that Aurash saw 'a terrible deity' in her image, which was _probably _Oryx…..the Aurash, Sathona and Xi Ro we're seeing here _aren't real. _The reason they've defied this lifespan they mentioned is because they're nothing but _incredibly _advanced Vex constructs, to the point where even _they _don't know it. I'd be willing to wager they're still Proto-Hive enough that Niro could conduct his Light Hive experiment with some DNA off of them, but for the most part, I think Aurash has been gaming the system without even _realizing it._" Midas theorized, almost sounding astounded by the possibilities at play here.

"…..gaming the system?" Kyra repeated, not following.

"Think about it: Aurash came to this place, apparently after she fled through a tear to get away from Oryx, according to her sisters…she must've fled into the Vex network, possibly because of her nature as a construct, and been dumped out in Karkinos' Veil. Over time, she probably adapted to the system _so much_ that what she wishes, she makes reality in here. She wished to find her sisters, and so the system _fabricated _exact copies of her sisters as she remembered from her own mind. They sought to find their sworn enemy, and so the system generated a copy, which they then killed. Sathona's 'jelly' was probably about as useless as using water to change her physiology, but because their brains remembered what the _real _jelly did, it modified Sathona's physiology to keep in line with what they _believed_ would happen. I wouldn't expect them to hold this power outside of the Veil, but if we tell them what our team is like, they might be able to game it some more and draw everyone back here…you know, by 'luck'." Midas clarified, setting things _greatly _into perspective.

"That actually makes sense…so, if we took them out of here, they could survive in the outside world, just without these godlike 'luck' powers?" Kyra inquired, admittedly curious to see how Niro's Light-Hive idea would pan out. Also making sense of how Aurash 'conveniently' found a second sled, the proto-Oryx was probably _hoping _to find a second sled by blind luck, and unintentionally fabricated one right in her own path.

"I'd say it's a fair shot…but first, we _need_ to find Karkinos if we hope to stop Skolas from resurrecting the Wolves in force." Midas reminded, not wanting to lose focus here. About to respond in some fashion, the Vandal was unfortunately interrupted by a strange event. The ground beneath them trembling, it did so in pulses, like massive feet the size of skyscrapers raising and falling one after another in a multi-legged gait across the earth. Unable to help her own curiosity, Kyra looked high in hopes of being able to spot the source of the commotion.

Spotting it _quite _easily, Kyra's heart felt like it was going to fall out the bottom and hit the floor as she caught sight of a _**massive **_Vex Cerberus unit. Easily hundreds of miles tall and hundreds more in length, the four-legged Vex slowly and peacefully stomped across the landscape, digging its giant, armored legs into the ground as it aimlessly wandered the frozen landscape. Its main body seeming even bigger than a Ketch that happened to have crashed near it at some point in the past, Kyra's heart was dropping even further when Aurash came out to comment on it.

"You said you were looking for the TImedancer earlier? There it is." Aurash pointed out, pointing right to the city-sized Cerberus unit. Hoping to salvage the situation a bit, Kyra was looking for a _very _specific technicality.

"So…the Timedancer is aboard that giant Vex?" Kyra suggested, only to have her worst case scenario come true.

"No, that Vex _is _the Timedancer. We tried leaving here once with our ship, but it barred us from exiting and shot us down, which is how we ended up stuck in these snow dunes….I know how to track it, but I _don't _know how you'd kill it." Aurash explained, offering what little assistance she could in this dire situation. Kyra lowly moaning in frustrated annoyance at this seemingly impossible task, Midas wasn't quite helping either.

"I know Merikh isn't here with us to say it, but I feel he would've said it best:" Midas commented, echoing some _very _true words about the obstacle they were faced with:

_We're gonna need a bigger gun._

Author's Note

And so, for the last update of 2016 (Not because of an upcoming break, just because this is literally going up on the 30th of December, so there's no more time _to _post more in 2016), we've got _three _outstanding things here: The debut of the _giant _Vex idea (I only said I wasn't gonna do a 100-foot Gate Lord or something of the sort, never said anything about other archetypes), debuting Aurash/Sathona/Xi Ro (Which was an idea I've had at least since Oryx's little side-bit earlier in the story where he got Crota's helm and sword back, if not a bit earlier. Can't quite remember), and doing another Part I/Part II two-chapter setup. I'm _hoping _it doesn't turn into three parts, but I did a two-parter to begin with in order to get all the ideas out _properly_, so we'll see. Hopefully it works out better than the last one.

To address musical inspirations real quick, the _absolute _biggest one that led pretty much half the chapter was Stay By My Side by Miracle of Sound, particularly the video and the instrumental chunk from 1:30 to 2:45 in the song. Essentially that 'magic' feel of a high-speed glide through a strange and mysterious environment that's passing Kyra by before she can properly sit and examine it, leading to more wonder than cold answers. To boot, it felt right to have it be Kyra of all people (Who is arguably the most 'curious' member of Komodo) paired up on this ride with Aurash, whose whole schpeal was her curiosity and inquisitiveness.

As for the bit in the beginning with the Servo Flayers/Fallen gearing up for war, that was a bit more of an Armored Prayer by Steve Jablonsky vibe, seeing everything slowly come together on this march to the front line as more and more of the team's rounded up bit by bit. It primarily fits more for the Cabal side of things, but still worked overall given the size of the allied forces in play. And the best part? That's just a _fraction _of that feel compared to what'll be coming later on.

So, since there's not too much to say about Karkinos other than his 'Ghost Lord' was for him to interact with the outside world because _he _himself has gotten too big to even _fit _exiting the Transfer Gate, the main thing I want to focus on is the three Proto-Hive sisters: I caught mention in Byf's Books of Sorrow videos that he called them the Krill _right _near the start, and I didn't want to just bite off the designs he featured (Though they _are _pretty good. Definitely visibly fitting for 'Proto-Hive'), so I ran with that idea: While their _real _homeworld crashed into Fundament and we have _no _idea what it was like, that's open-ended enough that I opted to go with an arthropod/crustacean-type design while still filling the basic necessities of Hive design, like the three eyes.

That's what led to the abdomen-limbs, which are essentially just more evolved versions of the tons of little legs you see on the underside of Shrimp and Krill, but still kinda help to make them feel as alien as the Fallen or Cabal rather than just pseudo-humans like, say, the Asari from Mass Effect. There's _nothing _I have an issue with about Byf's designs, it's honestly _because _I like his videos and use them to understand the more cryptic bits of the backstory that I want to respect what he does and try to use my own design instead of yanking his right out and throwing it in here. I know there are some 'dings' in this story where I swung and missed with the lore (Like thinking Xol was some legendary Wizard before TTK, wherein we found out Xol's actually an Ahamkara), but for the most part when it comes to pre-game events, I want to try and be at least _relatively _close to what he does so that someone can go watch his videos and immediately understand what some of the characters in here are babbling on about if I reference pre-game events.

Finally, about the Needle Ship and the Chitin-Boards, the idea behind that was to imply that the three Sisters, who probably didn't know _jack _about ship design and other-such things, might've been inspired by the design of their strange Needle Ship to design much of their later technology, like the Hive warships we know today. Since it's the same brains, just firing off in two different directions (One in the direction of Xivu Arath, Savathun and Oryx, while the other is the Construct copies of Aurash, Sathona and Xi Ro), it results in some things like both sides having the idea for the shape and contours of the Wall of Darkness barrier, but one made it from Darkness energy while the other made it from Chitin for a _completely _different purpose. Kinda like how the Walker and Goliath are technically both Main Battle Tanks, but two completely different cultures have _completely _different ideas of how to go about that.

So, as always, share thoughts on anything you want, and especially the dialogue: me and a good friend were playing through Lost Planet 2 again for the first time in _years, _and when I heard some of the cutscene dialogue, I was like "Shit…..their lines are written like how I write lines, and this sounds kinda…_bad."_, so I dunno if it was just their odd delivery combined with my paranoid concern about putting out something bad, or if the dialogue here is _actually _so-so, so feel free to comment on that.


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